Keith Jackson: Graeme Souness return ‘unlikely to run smoothly’ after Rangers development
The return of Graeme Souness is unlikely to run smoothly if the Rangers board don’t take his advice, according to Keith Jackson.
After the former Gers boss revealed that he is in discussions over a becoming a “consultant ambassador” at Ibrox, the journalist wrote on the Daily Record website on Monday (30 October) that he may wonder what the point is in being involved after Frank Lampard – his preferred candidate for the manager’s job – was overlooked.
He added that the 70-year-old is unlikely to hang around for “more frivolous, less meaty issues” if the board are unsure he knows what he’s talking about.
“If Souness’ judgement call on Lampard wasn’t trusted – before being ultimately ignored – then he may soon wonder what the point is in being involved in any future meaningful conversations,” said Jackson.
“After all, it doesn’t get much more important than the appointment of a new manager. And Souness is not likely to hang about merely to give advice on the more frivolous, less meaty issues.
“He’s certainly never been the sort of man to indulge in the wasting of time. Neither his own nor that of others. Whether the vast majority of Rangers fans thought he was correct to champion Lampard’s credentials over those of Clement – and the reality is they did not – is really neither here nor there in terms of any future dynamics with Bennett and the board.
“They either believe he knows what he’s talking about. Or they’re not too sure. And if that’s the case then this will-he-won’t-he relationship is unlikely to run smoothly.”
Fiery
There could be plenty of fiery debates on the way behind the scenes at Rangers if Souness does join the club as a consultant and the board don’t agree with many of his opinions.
The Scotsman will already be wondering whether his point of view is truly valued after Lampard was overlooked for the job in favour of Philippe Clement.
The new Gers boss is believed to have received a grilling from the former Ibrox favourite before being appointed as Michael Beale’s successor on 15 October.
Souness does know the club well from his time in Glasgow, but he certainly isn’t someone that will want to be wasting his time if he doesn’t feel respected.
It will be interesting how this one develops because, if the board are already locked in discussions about him returning to the Light Blues, then perhaps they could struggle to get on the same page moving forward.
In other Rangers news, the Gers were torn to shreds in a newspaper after squandering £8million.