The Scotsman is in interim charge of Norwich City – just a few weeks after reports suggested he could make a stunning move to Rangers.
It’s fair to say Rangers fans didn’t take too kindly to reports that the club had sounded out Alan Irvine as a potential successor to Mark Warburton in February.
According to the Daily Express, the experienced Scot appeared to fit the bill with the Ibrox hierarchy, particularly as he had experience working under a Director of Football during his short-lived stint with West Brom.
The 58-year-old’s CV, however, didn’t exactly give the impression that this was a man capable of reviving one of the most illustrious, historic sides in European football.
Usually the bridesmaid, Irvine is a respected assistant coach but, on the few occasions he has attempted to ‘go solo’, he has done little to suggest that he is being wasted behind the scenes. During spells in charge of Preston and Sheffield Wednesday, Irvine boasted a win ratio of 40 per cent. That figure dropped by half during a disastrous 22-game spell at The Hawthorns.
And, despite assuming the top job at Norwich City on a temporary basis following the drawn-out departure of Alex Neil only last month, the Glasgow-born coach has already managed to kick-start something of an ‘Irvine Out’ campaign among Canaries fans.
Saturday’s 2-0 defeat at Aston Villa may have been his first loss at the helm but it was the feeble nature of the defeat that riled the fans.
Pedro Caixinha, arriving at Ibrox just a few weeks after the Irvine speculation, may not be the most universally popular appointment. But few Rangers fans will be rueing the decision not to hand Irvine a rather undeserved chance based on this evidence.
@ChrisReevo @TalkNorwichCity @JackReeveTNC Is Irvine frightened to change the squad around in case he upsets a few players? #ncfc
— James Mackay (@jjmackayy) April 2, 2017
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