Rangers to turn to Slaven Bilic as appointment potentially days away after Kevin Muscat collapse
Rangers have seen their search for a new manager take yet another twist on Sunday evening.
The Gers had seemingly been on the verge of appointing Kevin Muscat as Russell Martin’s successor, only for the deal to fall through in dramatic last-minute fashion.
Confirmation of Muscat’s appointment at Rangers had felt imminent throughout the weekend, but he has since pulled away from the move after talks with Kevin Thelwell and Patrick Stewart.
Andrew Cavenagh and Co. have now got to re-align their search for the next boss once again, and the list of potential candidates is growing shorter by the day.
Rangers may have to backtrack on Slaven Bilic assessment
Slaven Bilic was linked with Rangers at an earlier stage of their hunt to fill the vacancy in the dugout, only for the club to opt against seriously pursuing him in favour of younger options.
However, with the way that events in Govan have unfolded since then, they will surely now have to reconsider their stance.
Nevertheless, the Gers’ hierarchy are hopeful of making an appointment “in the coming days,” according to Chris Jack via his X account.
Muscat, Steven Gerrard and Danny Rohl are now all out of the reckoning, which means that almost all of the initial likely candidates are no longer viable options to take charge.
With that in mind, the hierarchy at Ibrox must surely place Bilic under serious consideration once again, especially given his previous track record in English football.
| Manager | Club | Games | W | D | L | Win % |
| Bilic | West Ham | 109 | 42 | 30 | 37 | 38.53% |
| Bilic | West Brom | 65 | 26 | 21 | 18 | 40% |
| Gerrard | Al-Ettifaq | 55 | 19 | 16 | 20 | 34.54% |
| Rohl | Sheffield Wednesday | 89 | 34 | 19 | 36 | 38.2% |
| Muscat | Shanghai Port | 78 | 51 | 12 | 15 | 65.38% |
The Croatian led West Ham to a seventh-placed finish in the Premier League back in 2015-16, and later led West Brom to promotion from the Championship in 2019-20.
The 57-year-old’s win percentage across those two jobs was actually higher than that of both Gerrard and Rohl in their most recent jobs.
Bilic may not have been the ideal choice for the Rangers board, but given the predicament that they now find themselves in, he must surely be the next port of call.
Slaven Bilic would embrace Rangers responsibility
Bilic may not necessarily be Rangers’ ideal profile for their next appointment, but he would undoubtedly be a good fit for the style of club that they are.
His steely, battling character could quickly see him build a strong reputation with the fans, something that is desperately needed after the division caused by Martin’s reign.
Bilic has proven in the past that he is capable of creating a siege mentality within the clubs that he manages, and that is very much the case at Ibrox, where there is constant responsibility from a manager’s perspective.
He can be spiky at times, but that could easily lead to him building the kind of combative team that would quickly get the fans back on side.
Bilic may not have been the ideal candidate, but sometimes the most obvious choice is not always the best choice.
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