Pundit ‘amazed’ at behind-the-scenes Rangers decision amid new manager hunt, ‘strange’ claim made
It is “strange” that Rangers did not replace former director of football Ross Wilson in the summer, according to former Gers player Neil Murray.
Wilson left the Ibrox outfit in April of this year, with then-manager Michael Beale left to deal with transfers at the club.
Beale has since been removed from his post, with player Steven Davis taking over on an interim basis as the club search for a permanent successor.
“I’ve got to be honest, I’m amazed that Ross Wilson wasn’t replaced,” Murray told the Daily Record. “I find it strange. If you give a manager the keys to the castle and carte blanche to bring in players then it’s often a high-risk strategy.
“In Michael Beale’s case, it hasn’t paid off and the club are now two months into a season and expecting a new manager to come in and work with players he might not necessarily want.
“I know that can happen in a system where you have a director of football but at least in that way the players signed is down to a club decision rather than one individual manager’s. The new manager may or may not want to work with a director of football and that’s what this interview process will allow Rangers to find out.”
Director of football needed?
Not every club in the world has a director of football, with no one-size-fits-all approach suitable in this area given just how different every team is.
Scottish Premiership side Rangers are among those who do not employ such a figure, and in their case it hasn’t exactly worked out as they wanted it to.
The Gers brought in nine new faces in the summer transfer window, with Beale leading their recruitment following the exit of Wilson.
Those nine new players have had varying degrees of success so far at Ibrox, with perhaps only goalkeeper Jack Butland earning a favourable verdict among Gers supporters.
But the club’s approach doesn’t look like changing given the timescale, with a new manager definitely the priority at this moment in time.
With someone in the dugout to replace Beale and indeed interim boss Davis, a director of football can then, and only then, be pursued.
In other Rangers news, a BBC Sport journalist has shared a “copying Celtic” verdict amid the club’s current hunt for a new manager.