James Bisgrove gains ground in Rangers managerial hunt as Sky Sports update emerges on Friday
Rangers chief executive James Bisgrove looks to have gained ground in his search for Michael Beale’s successor at Ibrox as they prepare to enter the final round of interviews from Monday onwards.
Steven Davis has taken charge at Ibrox on an interim basis after Beale was sacked on Sunday (1 October) following the 3-1 defeat to Aberdeen on Saturday (30 September).
The race for the Ibrox managerial hotseat has certainly been heating up over the past few days with a whole host of names in the frame to replace Beale, such as AZ Alkmaar’s Pascal Jansen, Yokohama F. Marinos boss Kevin Muscat, Preston’s Ryan Lowe, Frank Lampard, Phillippe Clement and Kilmarnock manager Derek McInnes.
The Gers are said to be in no rush to make a decision over their next appointment, hence the confirmation of senior player Davis on an interim basis until after the international break at least.
Scottish Daily Mail (print edition, page 66) reported on 4 October that Bisgrove decided not to travel to Cyrpus for the defeat against Aris Limassol on Thursday (5 October) as he spearheads the search for a new manager.
According to the latest update from Sky Sports (6 October), critical progress seems to have been made with one name already slashed from their shortlist.
The British broadcaster reported on Friday (6 October) that the Light Blues are continuing to work through a managerial shortlist that has been in place for several months and are preparing to enter the final round of interviews from Monday (9 October) which means Bisgrove may already have an idea of which candidate he wants in the Ibrox managerial hotseat.
Also, it’s been reported that former Chelsea and Everton coach Frank Lampard is no longer being considered as Beale’s replacement with the likes of Clement, Jansen and Muscat widely considered to be options for the Gers.
It is said that various options are also being analysed by the Gers board who are working through an evolving shortlist that has been in place for several months as part of the club’s succession planning process.
While that particular stance may seem like Bisgrove and the Rangers board aren’t any closer to identifying their successor, it certainly seems as if they have already identified the kind of candidate and the kind of playing style they want at Ibrox which is critical at this point.
The shortlist may well be “evolving”, but it is surely now a case of choosing from one of those other aforementioned names.
It is expected that interviews will be held early next week, so fingers crossed there is a new man in charge at Ibrox before the international break draws to a close [Chris Jack, 6 October].
In other Rangers news, Bisgrove may have to let the cash fly for one exciting trophy-winning managerial candidate who looks a certainty to succeed at Ibrox.