Rangers suffered a reality check at Ibrox on Saturday against St. Johnstone, according to Craigan.
Former Motherwell captain Stephen Craigan has claimed in BT Sport column that Saturday’s loss to St. Johnstone will affect Graeme Murty’s chances of becoming the next permanent Rangers manager.
The Gers suffered a 3-1 loss at Ibrox to Tommy Wright’s men, with Alfredo Morelos managing to score the Light Blues’ only goal. It leaves interim manager Murty with six wins from nine games, since taking over in October.
The 43-year-old has been given until the new year which will see him remain in charge against Kilmarnock, Motherwell and Celtic, but Craigan questioned the Gers title credentials under the former Reading defender.
Craigan called for the Gers to appoint a manager who boasts plenty of experience in order to take the club back to where they need to be, disregarding Murty’s claims to take over.
“They may have improved recently but the loss to St Johnstone is a reality check – a surefire sign of how far they are away from being a title-chasing team,” Craigan said.
“The question still remains: is Graeme Murty the man to lead the club forward in the short, medium and long term?
“The answer isn’t straightforward but results like Saturday’s certainly cast doubt on the interim manager and underline the need for a proven figurehead to lead the club back to where they expect to be.”
Rangers now sit way back in third place, five points behind league leaders and bitter rivals Celtic, while Aberdeen sit in second and three points better off after beating Hibernian 4-1 at Pittodrie.
Murty will be looking to improve his chances of getting the job permanently on Saturday, as the Gers travel to Kilmarnock in a lunchtime kick-off.
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