‘An identical CV’: Rangers told 49-year-old could be their own Postecoglou

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Rangers legend Kris Boyd believes the Glasgow giants could take inspiration from Old Firm rivals Celtic, telling the Scottish Sun that Kevin Muscat could be Ibrox’s answer to Ange Postecoglou. 

As Muscat himself says, looks can be deceiving.

With his hardman visage and tough-tackling, take-no-prisoners approach to the ‘Beautiful Game’, few would have imagined that a man once dubbed ‘the most hated man in football’ would evolve into a head coach with such free-flowing principles. 

“I want to be involved in teams that play a certain brand of football. And that maybe contradicts what most people perceive to my playing days,” Muscat tells Japan Times and Stadium Astro. 

“Perception is sometimes not the reality. I’d like to think the five seasons I was coaching (at Australian outfit Melbourne) Victory, we played some really good football, some exciting football.” 

Could Kevin Muscat really replace Giovanni van Bronckhorst at Rangers?

A disciple of Ange Postecoglou, Muscat worked as an assistant to the now-Celtic boss before striking out on his own in management. And Postecoglou’s teachings are clear to see, Muscat’s Yokohama F Marinos side winning the 2022 J League title while scoring more goals than anyone else in the division. 

And Boyd, following the sacking of Giovanni van Bronckhorst on Monday, believes Rangers ‘could do worse than consider looking at (Celtic’s) blueprint’.  

“Just look what happened across the city. Ange Postecoglou has transferred his success in Australia and Japan to Scotland,” the former Scotland international says.

“His countryman, Kevin Muscat, has an almost identical CV and is someone worth considering. I’m sure, in typical west of Scotland fashion, some punters won’t want to be seen as copying Celtic.

“But if Muscat proves to be the perfect fit, then who really cares what his background is? The Aussie also knows better than most the strengths and weaknesses of Postecoglou.” 

Muscat won a domestic treble with Rangers in 2003 and has picked up five trophies as a manager. Funnily enough, he was tipped for a return to Ibrox just last week by former Australia team-mate Steve Corica. 

The 49-year-old replaced Postecoglou as head coach of Yokohama F Marinos a year-and-a-half ago. Could the pupil really join his old master in the Glasgow goldfish bowl?