Credit: Imago

Carla Devine

Tue 25 February 2025 8:10, UK

Kjetil Knutsen is one of the options for the permanent Rangers job after what he has done elsewhere in his career.

Philippe Clement’s tenure as boss came to an end on Sunday (23 February) after suffering a 2-0 defeat against St Mirren over the weekend.

Barry Ferguson has since been appointed as interim boss until the end of the season but the Gers will already be considering options for the full-time role at the end of the campaign.

Knutsen could be on the Rangers shortlist

Although it felt like Clement’s sacking at Rangers was a long time coming, the hierarchy was in favour of a short-term morale booster before making any long-term decisions on the direction of the Gers.

Nevertheless, with increased time to decide on a permanent manager, the next appointment has to be up to scratch, with no excuse for supporters to be left disappointed.

With that in mind, a list of possible favourites for the job at Ibrox has already emerged, with Knutsen heavily mentioned.

Writing in the print edition of the Scottish Daily Mail (25 February, page 70), Calum Crowe argued the case for Knutsen as he wrote: “One of the most accomplished and decorated CVs of all those in the running for the job.

“Has worked wonders with Bodo/Glimt over the past few years, winning four league titles in Norway,” he wrote.

“He has also led them to some great runs in Europe which have seen them punch well above their weight.

“Knutsen speaks good English and his teams play a high-octane 4-3-3 system. His CV and style of play should make him a serious contender.”

Knutsen could be a good appointment for Rangers

Under the management of Clement at Ibrox, both performances and results were often under par, leaving supporters with little to get excited about in Glasgow this term.

Therefore, there must be a real emphasis on making football entertaining again, as well as just producing the results to compete.

With that in mind, Knutsen could be a good appointment as someone who plays a good attacking style of football and generally creates good results from it.

The only concern that could arise from this appointment is if he is unaware of the culture of Scottish football.

It seemed fairly clear that Clement was not clued up on the importance of Rangers competing at the top level of the Scottish Premiership and didn’t understand the standards that were set at Ibrox which meant they were consistently delivering below the expected levels.

Therefore, if this was something that was being looked at by the Scottish Premiership outfit, they would need to ensure everyone was pushing in the same direction on the field.