Could Glasgow Rangers end up bringing Graham Potter or Neil Warnock to Ibrox at the end of the season?
Graeme Murty may have eased some of the pressure on his shoulders on Sunday as Rangers moved themselves back up to second in the Scottish Premiership, but it still seems more than likely that the Gers will be looking for a new manager at the end of the season.
Murty did a great job in temporary charge, but his longer-term stint has somewhat exposed his lack of experience and allowed Celtic to keep the daylight between themselves and their rivals despite the Hoops being much less impressive than last season over the course of the campaign.
It is not clear what kind of manager the board will look for in the summer – if they do decide to replace Murty – but bookmaker Sky Bet appear to believe that there is a decent chance that the Gers could either land a boss who took his side to the knockout stages of the Europa League or one who is on the cusp of securing promotion to the Premier League.
Frank De Boer is listed as the 2/1 favourite, but then Sky Bet have Ostersunds boss Graham Potter as the 7/2 second favourite. Potter has not featured in the market at anything like that price since it opened, so it is very interesting that his odds are now so short.
Meanwhile, just behind Potter at 11/2 is Neil Warnock. Warnock’s Cardiff City side are second in the Championship with three games to play – their rivals have just two left – so again, it is quite surprising that he finds himself available at such a short price given that he is seemingly on the verge of taking the Bluebirds back to the highest level.
Of the pair, Warnock appears to be the option that would be less of a gamble. The veteran has never had a chance at a club of Rangers’ stature but has very few failures on his CV, and he recently got the backing of Clint Hill when the Rangers cult-hero was asked about a potential appointment.
Potter’s lack of experience outside of Sweden would make an appointment a risk. The 42-year-old took over at Ostersunds when they were in the fourth tier, but he has taken them to the top flight, won the Swedish Cup and, as previously mentioned, took them to the Europa League knockout rounds this season – where they beat Arsenal at The Emirates but lost on aggregate.
If there was anything in the odds, and Rangers did appoint Potter, it would seemingly have the potential to be an inspired appointment given what he has already achieved in his management career. However, after the Pedro Caixinha experiment failed, the Rangers board may feel that it would be an extremely brave move to pursue the Englishman.
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