Davie Provan suggests Rangers’ directors have been on their knees begging for Walter Smith’s return as Ibrox boss

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However, the former Rangers manager does not want to replace Graeme Murty at Ibrox, according to Provan.

Davie Provan has warned the Rangers board they ‘haven’t a chance in hell’ of making an ‘A-list’ managerial appointment at Ibrox this summer – and suggested they will have been ‘on their knees begging’ for Walter Smith’s return to the dugout.

Graeme Murty appears to be losing his grip on the full-time position, despite a bright start to his second spell as Rangers’ interim boss.

And according to Provan – the boyhood Rangers fan best now for his nine years as a winger at Celtic – Rangers will struggle to upgrade on the 43-year-old, while Steve Clarke – who is many Gers fans’ first choice replacement – can be crossed off the list.

“Rangers are being urged to make an A-List appointment to challenge Celtic. I get that, but in reality they haven’t a chance in hell of getting one,” Provan wrote in his column for the Scottish Sun.

“No harm to Mark Warburton, Pedro Caixinha and Graeme Murty, but they are the Ibrox standard these days. Guys who are chuffed to get such a high profile job knowing there’s a nice pay-off waiting when they come up short. That’s probably unfair on Murty who was asked to catch the falling knife when Caixinha was axed.

“Unlike this dysfunctional Rangers’ board, Murty can look himself in the mirror. He’s made a fist of an impossible shift. But if Murty has now missed his chance, who are Rangers going to get? The most damning indictment of that job right now is that Walter Smith won’t take it.

“You can bet Gers directors have been on their knees begging Smith to return to the dugout. Yet a Rangers icon – who recently expressed interest in the Scotland job – won’t return to the club he loves? What does that tell you? This is the guy who took a bang average Rangers squad to a European final ten years ago.

“If Smith thought there was half a chance of challenging Celtic he’d have thrown his lot in. If he believed he could have stopped Celtic’s ten-in-a-row bandwagon he would have put the cardigan on again. Instead, he’s had the savvy to see history is repeating itself.”

Provan was referring to Smith’s first spell as Rangers manager, when the Ibrox giants were Scottish football’s dominant force, as Celtic bounced from one boss to another in a bid to catch up with their Old Firm rivals.

Smith also won three league titles and five cups after his 2007 return to Rangers – although the 70-year-old is yet to make his managerial comeback seven years after his exit.