Rangers appointed Pedro Caixinha instead of Alex McLeish in 2017.
Former Rangers defender Clint Hill has told The Scottish Sun that the Gers squad were expecting Alex McLeish – or somebody with a history of Rangers – to take over as manager in 2017.
The Gers are currently embracing a new era under their latest manager Steven Gerrard, but the last 18 months have been somewhat turbulent in the Ibrox dugout.
Mark Warburton resigned as Rangers boss in February 2017 in a bizarre situation, and with the ex-Brentford man coming up short in the Scottish Premiership anyway, it was an ideal time for change.
However, Rangers took the surprise decision to appoint relatively unknown Portuguese boss Pedro Caixinha as Warburton’s replacement in March 2017, and he lasted just seven months before being sacked.
Graeme Murty took over for the majority of the season before being relieved of his duties following a dressing room row, and Gerrard is now in the hot seat – but one former Rangers ace has looked back at the time following Warburton’s exit.
Ex-Rangers defender Clint Hill – signed by Warburton in the summer of 2016 – has told The Scottish Sun he and the Rangers squad were expecting former Ibrox boss Alex McLeish to return as Warburton’s successor.
McLeish – now in charge of Scotland – was tentatively linked with the post 18 months ago, but Rangers looked away from experience in Scotland and with Rangers in order to go with a gamble in Caixinha.
Hill suggested that the Rangers players thought McLeish, or another Rangers man, would be taking the job, and they were stunned when Caixinha landed the job, with no player having heard of him – and some may wonder how things would have been different if McLeish was given the job.
“No disrespect to him, but no one had heard of him,” said Hill. “We were thinking someone like Alex McLeish, or one of the other names that were bandied about at the time would get the job — someone who knew the history of Rangers and what the club was all about. And then, all of a sudden, Caixinha got the job.”
“I don’t think he was the prestigious name that Rangers needed. I’m not saying someone like McLeish would have done the job any better or worse. But the general feeling around was we needed stability and someone who knew how to get Rangers back challenging. The club went down a different route, but unfortunately it didn’t work out,” he added.
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