Credit: Rangers TV and Imago

Daniel Lewis

Fri 17 October 2025 9:22, UK

Steven Smith is set to take charge of Rangers for this weekend’s Scottish Premiership clash with Dundee United.

Rangers sacked Russell Martin 12 days ago but botched the searched for his replacement, with Steven Gerrard turning down an Ibrox return last weekend.

It forced Andrew Cavenagh and Paraag Marathe to turn to other targets, with Danny Rohl and Kevin Muscat emerging at the top of the list.

Rohl dropped out of the race this week, leaving Muscat as the overwhelming favourite to become next Rangers manager.

There has been radio silence on Rangers’ behalf ever since then, but Under-19s coach Smith was put in front of the media on Friday to answer an array of questions.

Kevin Muscat gets Steven Smith backing

Muscat is currently managing Shanghai Port, whose season does not conclude until 22 November.

That has led to suggestions Muscat could miss as many as eight Rangers matches should he be hired.

Rangers have yet to confirm Muscat‘s appointment, but Smith was asked about his feeling on the Australian being the likely next boss at Ibrox.

Smith said he knows Muscat from his younger days as a Rangers player and finds him a “pleasant” guy, adding that he is the type of character Rangers could do with right now.

The Rangers stand-in boss was also asked about the build-up to the Dundee United game, which of course has not been ideal.

“I’ve tried to keep everything as normal as possible,” he said. “I am taking everything day by day, and we have a game on Saturday which we have to win.

“With a lot of the players being away on international duty at the start of the week, the mood was down for the first couple of sessions.

“But now you see a full focus from the players, and the mood has lifted, and the focus is on tomorrow.”

Smith otherwise gave little away on the topic of the new manager, other than to add he will continue to oversee things until told otherwise.

• Read more: This is exactly what fans can expect from Muscat as Rangers manager

Neil McCann tipped for caretaker stint at Rangers

Rangers quite simply cannot go forward with their Under-19s manager overseeing day-to-day duties, let along matchdays.

There have been suggestions that Neil McCann, who knows Rangers well and has been a manager in his own right, will join Muscat as assistant manager.

Should that be the case, there is no reason why McCann cannot step in as caretaker manager for the next month or so.

While it is far from ideal, having McCann in the dugout – as he was for a period last season, remember – is certainly a much better alternative.

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