Ibrox View: Lovenkrands could land Rangers job in future if he ignores St. Johnstone interest
RANGERS OPINION
It’s a path that Rangers manager Steven Gerrard knows only too well himself.
Moving from a comfortable gig with a club where you are a fan favourite into the limelight of your first full time managerial appointment is a big step to take, but can be one that reaps huge benefits if done correctly.
And that is the opportunity potentially facing Peter Lovenkrands at the moment, according to a report from the Daily Record.
The national outlet suggests that the Dane has emerged as a frontrunner for the St. Johnstone job after Tommy Wright unexpectedly left his post.
Lovenkrands is currently reserve team manager at Ibrox, but is understood to hold ambitions of taking a full time appointment at a senior level in the future.
And he could do a lot worse than St. Johnstone.
Currently seventh in the table, within touching distance of the top half, Wright has left the Saints in a healthy enough position for whoever takes the helm after him.
But if Lovenkrands bides his time a little longer, could he be in line for an even bigger role in Glasgow?
The report from the Record makes it clear that he is highly thought of by Ibrox chiefs, and mounting speculation over Gerrard’s future at the club suggests that a vacancy could open up at the very top sooner rather than later.
In recent days, both Kris Boyd and The Sun journalist Alan Nixon have expressed doubts over whether or not Gerrard will still be at Ibrox next season.
And if he does go, there’s no reason to believe that Lovenkrands couldn’t be in the running for his job.
The Gers have proven before that they are willing to take a gamble on a fairly inexperienced manager by appointing Gerrard in the first place.
You could even argue that Lovenkrands is more qualified now than the ex-Liverpool man was when he took the job.
The 40-year-old knows the club inside out having made 74 appearances for the Gers during his playing career, and his tenure behind the scenes in recent years will have only strengthened that knowledge of how things work in Glasgow.
With a little more patience, and by turning his nose up at St. Johnstone, Lovenkrands would surely be somewhere in contention of landing himself a huge break.
In other Rangers news, Bayer Leverkusen director waxes lyrical about Gers after Europa League clash.