Glasgow Rangers could be looking for a new boss at the end of the season, and that should tempt the Ibrox side to show some real ambition.
With Graeme Murty’s tenure looking set to end – if it does end this summer – with Rangers not that much closer to Celtic at all, the Gers hierarchy will know how vital it is that they get the next appointment right to ensure that they stand the best chance possible of ending their rivals’ dominance in the near future.
Getting the right manager should have a knock-on effect on Rangers’ transfer business as it may influence how appealing a move to Ibrox is to potential targets – and that should tempt the club’s board to show plenty of ambition at the end of the season to get the kind of big name that creates a serious buzz.
Lurking at 40/1 in Sky Bet’s market to be in charge of the club on the opening day of next season is perhaps the kind of name who should be at the very top of Rangers’ wishlist before they consider potentially more realistic options.
Andre Villas-Boas is currently out of work after leaving Shanghai SIPG in 2017. His career has been a mixed one, but the 40-year-old has won the Europa League, managed Chelsea and boasts the fourth-highest win percentage of any manager in Tottenham’s history, and that should encourage Rangers to see if they could be the club to convince Villas-Boas back into the dugout.
In comments recently reported by the Daily Record, he admitted that he loved his time in Scotland whilst studying for his coaching badges, so perhaps the chance to manage the project to take Rangers back to the top of the Scottish game and re-establish them on the European map may appeal.
And in Villas-Boas, Rangers would be getting a manager who would implement an exciting playing style and carry the kind of reputation that would surely make it easier for the Gers to lure big name targets to the club.
It is an ambitious idea – and it is difficult to imagine that an appointment would happen without Villas-Boas taking a significant pay-cut on the salaries he has probably earned in his previous jobs – but Rangers need to consider aiming high during the coming months as Celtic have arguably regressed ever so slightly this term and that may give the Gers the slightest opening to start turning the tide in their favour if they get everything right this summer.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
