Michael Beale Sacked By Rangers: Who Should Be The Next Manager At Ibrox?

Rangers currently sit third in the Scottish Premiership, behind Celtic in first and St Mirren in second, whilst having lost three of their seven league games and already find themselves as part of the chasing pack against title-favourites Celtic. 

Unfortunately for Rangers, their pursuit of a manager couldn't come at a worse time: still with another 3 months until the January transfer window, one must wonder if any manager will be wanting to put themselves in a disadvantageous position with an underperforming squad having to compete against their bitter rivals and the defending champions.

The current favourite to assume the managerial position is Kevin Muscat, in an appointment which will mirror their Old Firm rival's pursuit of Ange Postecoglou: Muscat is the current head coach of Japanese top division side Yokohama F.Marinos, and the 50-year-old even made 22 appearances for Rangers' treble-winning side in 2002/03. 

The Marinos won the J1 last season, and are currently locked in a tough battle with Vissel Kobe at the top of the table this season. Muscat's men have also won the Asian SuperCup in 2023 and have a strong foothold in a number of domestic and continental competitions: the prospect of Scottish and Europa League football will have to be particularly appealing to Muscat if to tempt him to surrender his comfortable position in Yokohama. 

Also being linked the vacant position are two former English Premier League managers: Graham Potter has reportedly turned down a return to the dugout with the likes of Lyon in the last few months, whilst Frank Lampard most recently served as the caretaker manager at Chelsea in between the aforementioned Potter's dismissal and Mauricio Pochettino's appointment at Stamford Bridge. 

In regards to Potter, his simultaneous free-flowing and versatile styles of football could be enough to not only boost Rangers' goalscoring numbers, but patch the holes in their defence. Would many fans see Lampard as a regression however considering the 45-year-old's disastrous recent tenures at Everton and Chelsea? 

For many, a popular outside choice is the current AZ Alkmaar coach Pascal Jansen: the Dutchman has reportedly expressed an interest in managing back in England and the rest of the UK, and boasts a 60% win rate with the Eredivisie side, having guided them to the UEFA Europa Conference League Semi-Finals last season. Similarly to Muscat however, the current close title race and prospect of domestic success is likely very engrossing, and Rangers will need to go out of their way to coax Muscat, Jansen, or other managers of a high calibre and situation to make the move to Glasgow.