Glasgow Rangers are currently without a manager following the departure of Mark Warburton, and Johnstone appears to have given Alex McLeish his backing.
Derek Johnstone has told the Evening Times that Alex McLeish may be the ideal man for Rangers to turn to if they are initially looking to appoint an interim boss until the end of the season.
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The Gers are currently looking for a manager after parting company with Mark Warburton last week. And while the fact that the Scottish Premiership title is Celtic-bound may lead some to believe that the Rangers hierarchy can take time to consider the best appointment, the race for second will surely force the board to act quickly.
Mark Warburton
And Johnstone has suggested that if the Light Blues decide to put someone in the role until the end of the season while they consider their long-term plans, McLeish may be the man they need.
“It might be that the board have to appoint an interim manager to see us through the next couple of months. If that is the case, you are looking at a tried and trusted boss,” he told the Evening Times.
“If that is Alex McLeish with Alex Rae alongside him, great. They are two Rangers men and they will certainly have an impact on the players.
Former Rangers boss Alex McLeish
“They care about the club and will certainly do their best between now and the end of the season if they decide to come back to Ibrox.”
As Johnstone alluded to, McLeish knows the Ibrox club well having managed them for over four years shortly after the turn of the Millennium.
And he enjoyed plenty of success during that time, winning two league titles, two Scottish Cups and three League Cups before his departure in 2006.
As he is also currently out of work, the Rangers board can potentially make a quick appointment as they will not need to worry about negotiating compensation with another club.
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And if McLeish ultimately does get given the job for the next few months, he may well be looking to impress to the point that he is given a second chance to manage them permanently. And while their respective first spells are hardly comparable, he may be looking to emulate the kind of tenure that Walter Smith enjoyed following his return to Ibrox.
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