Former Brighton and Sunderland boss Gus Poyet reportedly wants the Rangers job.
Taking over at Rangers may bring a great deal of pressure, expectation and the seemingly improbable challenge of knocking Celtic off their perch.
Nonetheless, the Ibrox job is still one of the most prestigious and coveted in British football. No wonder, then, that a number of managers have expressed an interest in the role, from Steve McClaren (Sky Sports) to Michel Preud’homme (Daily Record).
And The Herald reported on Saturday that Gus Poyet is the latest coach to eye up the Rangers hotseat. It is understood that the 49-year-old put his name forward to director of football Mark Allen as he looks for a replacement for Pedro Caixinha.
While the report adds that Rangers would rather a British manager after the failed Caixinha experiment, Uruguayan Poyet knows the domestic game like the back of his hand having played for Chelsea and Tottenham before managing Sunderland and Brighton.
Alarm bells
It’s not Poyet’s nationality that should make Rangers think twice, however, but his less than impressive managerial record. Pep Guardiola, Antonio Conte and co might have something to say about the ‘good players don’t make good managers’ cliché but Poyet’s career in the dugout has been far from successful.
After guiding Sunderland to the League Cup final and saving them from relegation in 2013/14, Poyet was sacked in March 2015 with the club just a point above the relegation zone. They won just 14 of his 60 Premier League games.
Since then, Poyet won just three of 11 fixtures in charge of Real Betis, sacked six months into a two-year contract with fans greatly unimpressed by a dire style of football.
And, as recently as September, Poyet departed Shanghai Shenhua after an embarrassing defeat to Brisbane Roar in the Asian Champions League and a horror run of results which saw last season’s third place side fall to 12th.
Enough reason, then, for Rangers to politely decline Poyet’s offer.
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