Kevin Muscat approach claim made at Rangers with Clement on brink of sack
Kevin Muscat has seemingly once again emerged as a possible contender to become the next Rangers manager amid the increasing pressure mounting on Philippe Clement.
Clement remains Rangers manager for now, despite the humiliating Scottish Cup exit at home to Queen’s Park at the weekend.
The 1-0 defeat at Ibrox makes Clement the first Gers boss to oversee a home loss to lower-league opposition in the competition’s 150-year-plus history.
While the Belgian may still be in the job for now, it has not stepped speculation mounting as to who could be next through the Ibrox doors.
Clement saw off competition from Muscat to become Gers boss in October 2023, but the former Rangers player’s name has never entirely gone away.
Kevin Muscat to replace Philippe Clement at Rangers?
However, Muscat has himself recently stated he is happy in China, where he is about to begin a new season in charge of Shanghai Port.
And in the view of pundit Derek Ferguson, the Gers have very little chance of persuading him to succeed Clement if they do make a fresh approach given they previously rejected him.
“Muscat has been quite vocal since getting knocked back, and I don’t think he’d look at the Rangers job again which surprises me a little,” Ferguson exclusively told Ibrox News.
“Kevin knows Rangers extremely well and maybe Rangers should have gone down that route. To be fair to Clement, he did turn things around at the start. But since then, a lot of his interviews have been strange.
“Sometimes it happens when you sign a player, you’re taking a gamble. It’s the same here – it hasn’t worked out for Clement.
“Muscat seems happy where he is and he’s probably a little but hurt that he was knocked back given his credentials and his relationship with Rangers, so I don’t see him being appointment.”
What has Kevin Muscat said about Rangers job?
Muscat has never truly responded directly to speculation with the Rangers job, whether that be around the time of Clement’s appointment, or indeed late last year when talk of him again being in the frame emerged.
The 51-year-old has said repeatedly he is happy in his current job, but managers will never stray from that tried-and-trusted line.
Craig Moore, who knows the Australian well, said last September that Muscat would have been “devastated” to previously been overlooked for the job.
For all the talk of replacements, though – Wayne Rooney being another outside bet – Clement is still manager.
Clement may be on the brink of being sacked, but until the board pull the trigger – hopefully sooner rather than later – all this talk seems irrelevant.