Which Way Now?

The 3-1 defeat to St. Johnstone at the weekend has again cast doubt on whether Graeme Murty is the man to lead Rangers on a permanent basis. Here are three alternatives that might be seen as suitable candidates.

Tony Pulis

Along with Sam Allardyce and Arsene Wenger, Pulis is one of the leading elder statesmen of British football. He seems to have been around forever yet is still shy of his 60th birthday.

Answering a question on beIN SPORTS at the weekend, he described Rangers as “[O]ne of the great clubs of British football...” and rumours persist that he could take over the Ibrox hotseat after Christmas.

Pulis undoubtedly has the character to handle the job and would be a popular choice among supporters. He showed at Palace that his teams can play attacking football, and his ability to organise a defence would certainly appeal to a fanbase that has grown weary of weak defending.

Somewhat underrated as a manager, Pulis would relish the opportunity to compete with Brendan Rodgers. During Rodgers’ honeymoon period at Liverpool, the media often implied that the footballing philosophies of old-heads like Pulis and Allardyce were a relic of the past. Each time Rodgers’ teams faced Pulis', it was billed as a clash of footballing civilisations. But Pulis’ methods have stood the test of time, and – even at Celtic - questions are still being asked of Rodgers’ defensive know-how. Both men won respective Manager of the Year awards just three years ago in the EPL and the appointment of Pulis as Rangers manager would be a mouth-watering prospect.

Robbie Nielson

Still only 37, the former Murray Park prospect has now managed in 200 league games north and south of the border.

Prior to his departure for MK Dons, Robbie amassed a 58.5 per cent win ratio with Hearts and made them a considerable force in Scotland. A cool operator with broad knowledge of the Scottish/British game, together with a reputation for blooding youth players, Neilson’s profile seems to match that described by chairman Dave King in the past.

MK Dons, with an average age of 23.9 years, are a work in progress and currently sitting in 17th position in League One. Their lowly position would surely help to convince Neilson that Rangers is a good move.

Michael Laudrup

Brother of Rangers legend Brian, 53-year-old Michael Laudrup’s ideas on football are cut from the same footballing cloth as Brendan Rodgers'.

Tipped for one of the big clubs in England when he managed Swansea, Laudrup disappeared off the managerial radar in Europe and now leads Qatari club Al-Rayyan, with whom he signed a two-year contact in October 2016.

With a philosophy that ties-in perfectly with the brand of football the King era was supposed to herald, Michael would be a highly popular appointment among the Rangers support. However, fans and board alike might well wonder if we would see a re-run of Mark Warburton’s defensive failings, as players of average ability tried to tiki-taka their way out of defence (the same Foderingham, Tavernier and Wilson are still here, of course). But, in terms of his footballing pedigree and ability to lead a club, most would agree that Laudrup is a step above Warburton.

Not a name that has been associated with the job of late, but a Laudrup-led Rangers would give a serious shot of adrenaline to supporters and players alike.