Rangers may have to wait for Kevin Muscat after he makes Yokohama title vow
It has nearly been a week since Rangers parted company with manager Michael Beale, following a poor start to the season with a 3-1 defeat to Aberdeen the final straw for the former QPR boss.
Since then things have gone from bad to worse on the pitch for the Light Blues, losing in the Europa League to Aris Limassol and despite plenty of links to the vacant hot seat at Ibrox, the Gers don’t appear to be any closer to naming their new boss.
One name that has been heavily linked with the post is former Rangers defender Kevin Muscat, with talks reportedly being held over Zoom to discuss the possibility of the Australian taking over at Ibrox [Football Scotland, 6 October].
But there could be a spanner in the works after the current Yokohama F. Marinos boss seems to be in no rush to depart Japan, instead vowing to lead the club to back-to-back J-League titles as they currently trail Vissel Kobe by four points with five matches left to play.
As quoted by Football Scotland (7 October) he said: “During the week, we had 61 supporters who travelled to Jinan in China to see us play in the AFC Champions League against Shandong Taishan. I was truly moved by the fact that these fans travelled that distance just to support us.
“The support was truly amazing and the best possible. Of course, we will have a lot more fans at the semi-final against Urawa Reds. The fans here have been brilliant to me and the team and I vow to deliver another title for them.”
While Rangers are said to be taking their time to ensure that they get their next managerial appointment correct at Ibrox, they are unlikely to wait until the J-League season concludes on 3 December, just to ensure that Muscat can be the man to take over the Light Blues.
In their one outing under Steven Davis, the Gers have looked as poor as they ever did under Beale and that will have likely made the hierarchy at Ibrox keen to find a new manager sooner rather than later, to ensure the new boss is in charge following the October international break.
Muscat has been said to be very keen to make the switch to Glasgow and there is every chance that his latest comments could just be an attempt to stop his squad and fanbase from being distracted by the constant links away, after all, loyalty isn’t a huge part of modern-day football.
But should the former defender genuinely want to see out the remainder of the season in Japan, you would have to imagine that his name may be taken off the shortlist at Ibrox.
In other Rangers news, David Ornstein has described Graham Potter’s next job as massive following links to Ibrox