49ers can forget Ferguson by hiring new Rangers boss who’s wowed Guardiola

The Philippe Clement era at Rangers is over.

Last weekend’s 2-0 home defeat at the hands of St Mirren, the Buddies’ first victory at Ibrox since 1991, proved to be the Belgian’s 86th and final match in charge, enjoying 55 victories but unable to lead the Gers to a 56th title.

His sacking was announced a week ago before, the following morning, it was confirmed that Barry Ferguson, who made 410 appearances for the club, will be in interim charge until the end of the season, assisted by a trio of fellow-former Rangers players, namely Neil McCann, Billy Dodds and Allan McGregor.

Given that, as noted by Graham Ruthven of the Total Soccer Show, Ferguson has no pedigree as a top-level manager, previously taking charge of Clyde, Kelty Hearts and Alloa Athletic with mixed success, he’s unlikely to get the job permanently.

So, should Rangers’ potential new investors, namely Paraag Marathe of 49ers Enterprises, look to a manager from farther afield, with Pep Guardiola’s approval no less, as Clement’s long-term successor?

What went wrong for Philippe Clement at Ibrox

Ever since Rangers were knocked out of the Scottish Cup by Queen’s Park, beaten at Ibrox in that competition by a team from a lower division for the first time ever, it was only a matter of time until Clement lost his job.

With his team also currently 16 points adrift run-away Premiership leaders Celtic, speaking on Premier Sports’ Scottish Football Social Club, former Hibs and Hearts midfielder Michael Stewart said he could not see how Clement could survive such an historic cup shock.

Meantime, speaking on the Scottish Football Show, Findlay Marks believes Clement has been a ‘dead man walking’ ever since that cup exit, adding that while the Belgian is clearly a good manager, he ‘never figured out… how to play in Scotland’.

Clement failed to win any of his first six Glasgow derbies, two of which came in cup finals, another reason why Mark Atkinson of the Scotsman believed ‘most Rangers-minded individuals wanted him gone’ a while ago.

With Rangers marooned in second spot in the Premiership, not going to catch Celtic and equally unlikely to be overtaken by Aberdeen, they can start planning for next season, which they know will commence on 22 or 23 July with the first leg of a Champions League qualifier.

By then, the Light Blues could have new owners, given that 49ers Enterprises are attempting to purchase a ‘controlling stake’ in the club, as reported by Jordan Campbell of the Athletic, so should they look to the other side of the world for their first managerial hire?

Rangers’ ideal Clement successor

According to David Irvine of the National, Kevin Muscat is currently third-favourite to be the next Rangers manager, having been interviewed for the job back in October 2023, when Clement was appointed instead, a decision that left him ‘disappointed’.

As a player, Muscat made 26 appearances for Rangers in the 2002/03 season, also representing Crystal Palace, Wolves, Millwall as well as various clubs across Australia, infamously deemed to be too hot-headed by manager Alex McLeish to play in an Old Firm.

He’s since become something of a globe trotter in management, in charge of Melbourne Victory for six years, winning two A-League titles, before a brief stint as Ange Postecoglou’s assistant at the 2017 Confederations Cup in Russia.

After little over a dozen matches in charge of Sint-Truiden in Belgium, he then succeeded Postecoglou at Yokohama F. Marinos, after his compatriot became Celtic head coach, winning the J1 League in 2022.

Since December 2023, Muscat has been in charge of Shanghai Port in China, winning the Chinese Super League and Chinese FA Cup double last season, beating Shandong Taishan 3-1 in November’s final in Wenzhou, as he pointed out himself, achieving the club’s very first double.

“Guardiola has approved of Kevin Muscat’s high-tempo attacking football” as noted by digital producer Sacha Pisani, with the Manchester City boss saying of Muscat’s Yokohama side “wow… they are dynamic in their process, the build-up, everything they do. I like it.”

So, let’s see how he compares to Clement.

As the table underlines, Muscat has won a league title in three different countries, not many can boast that, while his Shanghai Port side won last season’s Chinese Super League title with a record-breaking 78 points, dropping only 12 points all year.

Thus, the 51-year-old’s pedigree means he has to be a serious candidate to fill the current vacancy at Ibrox.