Keith Jackson delivers verdict as Rangers hold manager talks with Kevin Muscat
Keith Jackson has been baffled as Rangers have held talks with Kevin Muscat and Frank Lampard to become their next manager.
In his Daily Record column on Monday, 9 October, Jackson wrote that there is nothing common in the CVs of the two managers which shows a lack of planning.
He believes that Muscat might have been a hard man during his playing days but is a more tactical coach now that he’s turned to management.
Jackson wrote, “Lampard and Kevin Muscat have already been interviewed but there’s nothing remotely similar about their CVs, style of management or even their philosophies on how the game should be played. Muscat had no real lasting profile from his own playing days, other than a reputation for being one of the most brutal, old school hatchetmen in the business.
“But his identity as a manager is in stark contrast to the image he portrayed on the pitch. The Aussie is very much the thinking man’s coach – cultured and contemporary in the way he goes about his work and, ultimately, he has trophies in the bag to prove that it works.”
Decent option
As Jackson has mentioned, he’s got trophies in the bag to prove that his philosophy works something the likes of Frank Lampard and Scott Parker do that.
The caveat is that he’s done it in Australia and Japan and has not been tried in one of Europe’s big leagues thus far.
He won an award for the A-League coach of the year back in 2014/15 and Ange Postecoglou too came from there and has done well in his career since.
Moving to Rangers should be a no brainer for Muscat as it seems like he’s achieved all he could and this is the next logical step.
If he has aspirations of being a Premier League manager, he’s going to have to test out his mettle in the SPFL or an equivalent league.
While Gers will not want to be used as a stepping stone, at this point they will take anyone to steady the ship and get the players playing an exciting brand of football and winning silverware.
In other Rangers news, an award-winning manager has now asked his representatives to set up an interview with the Ibrox hierarchy as he aims to succeed Michael Beale.