Rangers in talks to hire “magnificent” manager

Philippe Clement is no longer the manager of Glasgow Rangers. Although inevitable, it felt as though the Belgian should have been relieved of his duties months ago, especially after a dismal start to the season at Ibrox.

The Premiership title race was all but over by the time Santa was delivering presents. The 3-0 win over the Parkhead side at the start of the year showed signs of recovery, but in the club’s very next game, they drew 3-3 with Hibs, surrendering a two-goal lead.

The Scottish Cup defeat to Championship side Queen’s Park was the nail in the coffin and, in truth, Clement should have walked after that. Keeping him as manager was prolonging the malaise around Ibrox.

At the time of writing, the Light Blues have lost five and drawn five of their 27 league games thus far. This sort of form will never be good enough to claim the domestic title, especially with how impressive Celtic have been.

It appears that big changes could occur at the club in the coming months, as 49ers Enterprises looks set to complete a takeover of Rangers, which could revitalise the club—both on and off the field.

While it looks like an interim boss will be appointed until the summer, the next permanent manager must be the right one, otherwise the club will forever be going around in circles.

Might there already be a name in the running for the vacant role already?

The latest on Rangers’ hunt for a new manager

Naturally, there will be plenty of names thrown about surrounding the manager’s job at Ibrox, with some familiar faces likely to be mentioned by the media.

Eurosport contributor and journalist Luca Chianti has given an update, however, saying on X: “Rangers board will move quickly to appointment new manager with Steven Gerrard preferred by board and in talks, also concurrent discussions with ex Everton manager Sean Dyche.”

Dyche was sacked by Everton a few weeks ago following an underwhelming start to the 2024/25 season which left the Toffees in danger of relegation.

His style of play isn’t something many of the Ibrox faithful would want to see in Glasgow, rather someone who prefers a more attacking philosophy indeed.

Gerrard, on the other hand, could be a solid candidate, regardless of his previous two managerial roles ending in failure.

He lasted less than a year at Aston Villa, while his spell in the Middle East came to an end in January, leaving Saudi outfit Al-Ettifaq after just 18 months in charge.

While not perfect, Gerrard brought Rangers from the doldrums to the summit of Scottish football in just three years. He managed to get the best out of a talented squad of players while performing miracles in Europe, restoring pride to the Gers.

It is no secret that the former Liverpool icon is looked highly upon by the supporters due to the part he played at the club. Could a second spell in Glasgow get the Gers going again? Or is it a step too far?

Steven Gerrard’s Rangers statistics

Gerrard inherited a torrid squad when he took over in May 2018 and, quite naturally, it was going to take time for him to imprint his vision on the team.

The Light Blues failed to win a trophy during his first two seasons, although they reached the League Cup final in 2019, while also securing three wins against Celtic, the most of any manager since Walter Smith.

The 2020/21 campaign was his crowning glory, leading the team to an undefeated Premiership season which saw the club claim their first league title in a decade.

So impressive was this achievement, that even Sir Alex Ferguson hailed it as “magnificent” and it was down to the talents of several players, including Alfredo Morelos.

In the current Rangers squad, there is a player who has shown a remarkable likeness to the former Gers talisman. Hamza Igamane has a long way to go to match the numbers Morelos notched at Ibrox, but with the right coaching, anything is possible.

How Gerrard could bring the best out of Hamza Igamane

During his time working under Gerrard, Morelos went from a bustling out-and-out centre-forward to one who could drop deep and link up well with others around him despite not sacrificing his predatory instincts inside the penalty area.

Indeed, Morelos played 158 matches for Gerrard at Rangers. During that time, he scored an impressive tally of 83 goals while grabbing 36 assists.

This works out as a goal every 1.9 games, and it is no wonder they went on to win the league title in 2020/21.

Igamane has certainly been one of the few bright sparks for the Gers this season, despite the poor results. Like Morelos, the Moroccan youngster seems to come alive when the Europa League anthem is played, scoring four goals in the competition from just four starts.

One came against Tottenham Hotspur, while the striker registered a goal every 91 minutes in Europe’s secondary competition.

Morelos is the club-record goalscorer in Europe for Rangers, netting 29 goals in 63 games for the Light Blues. If Igamane remains at the club and pushes on from this solid campaign, he has a chance to potentially break this.

Gerrard would bring the best out in him, that’s for certain. Clement failed to truly showcase a proper style of play during his time in charge, often leaving the main striker isolated in several games.

On the flip side, the Englishman tends to use a 4-3-3 system which brings the best out of a front three. During the 2020/21 season, Morelos was often flanked by Ryan Kent and either Ianis Hagi or Joe Aribo, two players who created chances aplenty for him.

Hagi is still at the club, while Gerrard could utilise the talents of Oscar Cortes, Nedim Bajrami and Ross McCausland similarly.

The board have got to look ahead to the future. The 44-year-old has achieved success in Glasgow before and there is no reason why he couldn’t do so again.