Rangers have enjoyed a superb start to 2018 under Graeme Murty.
Former Rangers boss Stuart McCall has told The Herald that he thinks the Ibrox job is appealing, but the Gers must build with summer signings.
Rangers have enjoyed a superb 2018 so far, which has seen them rack up nine wins in ten games in all competitions, with their remarkable league form taking them to within six points of league leaders Celtic.
The two Old Firm rivals meet at Ibrox this weekend, giving Rangers a chance to cut the gap to just three points, potentially handing Celtic a rare title challenge.
Interim manager Graeme Murty – who is only on a deal until the end of the season – has worked wonders since replacing Pedro Caixinha, and has a real shot at landing the job permanently.
Rangers may still consider other options this summer, but it’s fair to say that Murty is the favourite right now, especially after his work in the January transfer window.
Russell Martin, Sean Goss, Greg Docherty, Jamie Murphy and Jason Cummings all arrived at Ibrox and have made real impacts so far, with Rangers no doubt pursuing permanent deals for all but Docherty, who signed on a fulltime basis from Hamilton.
Now, former Rangers boss Stuart McCall has told The Herald that he thinks the January window should be a stepping stone to an improved budget in the summer, with more signings needed to challenge Celtic.
McCall admitted that the job is appealing, but everything must be in place off the pitch too, as they must keep pushing to challenge Celtic and invest in new signings, and whilst the job should appeal to top managers, Murty is in the box seat.
“If they back up the January window with a budget to make the next window as fruitful – and I know there were a few loans – then it’s a stepping stone,” said McCall. “And it looks more encouraging than it has for some time. They signed Docherty for £600k. Murphy will come for £1million. We are not talking money that’s going to topple Celtic at this moment. But you are getting a core that gives you a chance.”
“Is that job appealing? Yes. But it also has to be appealing off the park. It’s not enough to say Rangers finished within five or six points of Celtic. They will ask, ‘now what are we going to do about that?’ Have we got investment to come in? Can we really put in a proper challenge to Celtic? This should be a job which appeals to top managers. But, listen, Graeme can only keep doing what he is doing. The results and performances have been much improved against Celtic. Long may that continue,” he added.
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