The former captain won five league titles with Rangers and he could be just as influential behind the scenes.
If Rangers are considering appointing former captain Craig Moore as their new Director of Football, the decision would be far from sentimental, Herald Scotland reports.
The former Australian stalwart spent 12 seasons at Ibrox, lifting five Scottish Premiership titles but, off the pitch, the 41-year-old has proved equally influential.
He has spent the last seven years honing his craft and building an impressive contact book while working as a director for A-League side Brisbane Roar in his homeland, helping the club thrive in the face of a limited budget – a handicap Rangers are all too familiar with.
And, if there is one gripe that perhaps sums up the division between recently departed Gers boss Mark Warburton and the Ibrox fan base, it is the club’s transfer policy.
While Celtic have spent astutely on talented youngsters or players determined to prove a point, a la Scott Sinclair and Moussa Dembele, Rangers swelled their squad and squeezed the budget by bringing in a plethora of over-the-hill veterans from Joey Barton to Philippe Senderos via Niko Kranjcar.
For varying reasons, the trio managed just 12 league starts between them all season.
Moore, meanwhile, has played a major role in Brisbane Roar’s scouting system and youth development, ensuring that a budget dwarfed by a number of their domestic rivals has not impeded their chances of success.
They finished runners-up in 2012 and champions two years later. Earlier this year, Roar reached the group stages of the Asian Champions League for only the third time in their history this month, beating Carlos Tevez’s Shanghai Shenhua 2-0 in China.
It is the kind of progress Rangers can only dream of. Although with Moore working his magic, closing that gap to Celtic might appear slightly more achievable.
“It is obviously extremely flattering to be linked with a club of the size and standing in the game of Rangers,” Moore said in quotes reported by Herald Scotland, who believe he could be enticed by a return to Glasgow.
Rangers would welcome him back with open arms.
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