Rangers parted ways with manager Mark Warburton earlier this month.
General View of Ibrox Stadium
Rangers are looking for a new manager after confirming on their official website last Friday that manager Mark Warburton has resigned from his position at Ibrox.
Warburton guided the Gers to promotion from the Scottish Premiership last season, but lukewarm performances and disappointing results – such as the 4-1 defeat at Hearts earlier this month – had piled the pressure on Warburton.
Whilst Warburton was under real pressure, many expected him to be sacked if he was to leave the club, but his resignation was accepted after a bizarre sequence of events regarding a failed move to Nottingham Forest, as reported by the Daily Record.
Graeme Murty has taken charge of the last two games for Rangers, and the search for a new manager is well and truly on – whether it’s on a long-term basis or just until the end of the season.
Bookmakers have been pricing up odds for who could replace Warburton, and here are five of the biggest movers in the market today, as compiled by Oddschecker.
Graeme Murty: 4/5
Despite overseeing a disappointing 2-1 defeat at Dundee on Sunday, Murty has today become the odds-on favourite to claim that Rangers job. Currently Rangers’ caretaker manager following Warburton’s exit, Murty has been coaching the club’s young players this season, and has been thrust into the job of caretaker manager. With managerial experience to his name, the former Scotland international is very much a rookie boss, but Rangers may choose to keep him in charge until the end of the season.
Alex McLeish: 6/4
McLeish has been the favourite for the job ever since Warburton’s exit, but he’s now slipped to second favourite today. The 58-year-old has already had one spell with Rangers, winning two league titles in four-and-a-half years at the club, and is currently out of work having left Egyptian side Zamalek last summer. An experienced coach with ties to Rangers, McLeish may be a safe pair of hands until the end of the season, but he’s drifting ever so slightly to 2/1.
Dougie Freedman
The huge mover of the day is Freedman. A former Scotland international striker who was born in Glasgow, Freedman has been out of work since losing his job with Nottingham Forest in March 2016. Now gearing up for a return to management, 42-year-old Freedman has seemingly seen a flurry of bets come in today on him being the next Rangers boss, as he’s now a 3/1 frontrunner for the job. Once a promising young manager, Freedman has lacked lasting success in recent years, and may be something of a gamble for Rangers.
Nottingham Forest manager Dougie Freedman
Billy Davies 9/2
Another former Rangers man having played for the club as a midfielder, the Glaswegian once had a strong reputation in the Championship having achieved play-off finishes with Preston North End, Derby County and Nottingham Forest. Now though, the 52-year-old has been out of work for almost three years, and is in the managerial wilderness right now. A boyhood Rangers fan, Davies could be a candidate to take the job until the end of the season, and he’s down to 9/2 for the job this evening.
Derek McInnes 7/1
McInnes saw his Aberdeen side move six points clear of Rangers in the race for second place over the weekend, and his work at Pittodrie means he continues to be linked with the job at Ibrox. The 45-year-old had a five-year spell with the club as a midfielder during his playing days, and having rebuilt his reputation with Aberdeen following a dismal spell at Bristol City, McInnes could be ideal for Rangers given his ties to the club and knowledge of Scottish football. At 7/1, McInnes is one of the main names in the frame for the Gers, but they would have to pay considerable compensation to land him.
Who would you like to see Rangers appoint as their new manager?
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