Former Fulham and West Ham star to battle no-nonsense ex Crystal Palace man for Rangers job

Former Fulham and West Ham legend Scott Parker is in contention for the vacant Rangers job alongside ex Crystal Palace and Millwall defender Kevin Muscat.

The Glasgow giants have now whittled down a long list of candidates, which had included ex Chelsea manager Frank Lampard, to just four names ahead of crunch talks in London this week. Parker and Muscat are set to compete alongside Phillipe Clement and Pascal Jensen for the managerial hot seat after Michael Beale was sacked earlier this month.

GlasgowWorld reports that Rangers are ready to act decisively with their final candidates as chairman John Bennett and chief executive James Bisgrove travelled to London on Sunday night.

Parker has been out of work since being sacked by Club Brugge in March and had previously enjoyed spells at Fulham and Bournemouth. The 42-year-old succeded in getting both the Cottagers and the Cherries promoted into the Premier League from the Championship but then struggled in the top flight.

Muscat has perhaps had a less prolific managerial career since retiring in 2011 and is perhaps an outsider, but his 2002/03 spell with the club makes him a more familiar face for Gers supporters. The 50-year-old, known as one of the sport's most aggressive ever players, is currently managing Yokohama F. Marinos in Australia - having replaced current Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou when he went to work at Celtic.

Both stars spent time playing their football in London. Parker made 140 appearances for Charlton Athletic, 129 appearances for West Ham United and 128 appearances for Fulham over a long career, which also featured spells at Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea. Muscat played 62 times for Millwall and 56 times in south London for Crystal Palace.

Rangers club legend Graeme Souness is reported to be helping out Bennett, Bisgrove and director Graeme Park in an advisory role. The former Liverpool man has history with Parker, having signed the player at Newcastle United in 2005 and been outspoken with praise for the player.

Speaking when Magpies boss in 2006, Souness said: "He wears his heart on his sleeve and you can see what he is on the pitch. I think supporters realise he is someone who gives everything. I don't think I can think of anyone else like him and I've never worked with someone like him.

"He plays to the point of exhaustion. I'm thinking of that incident against Arsenal when he was on the ground just in front of the dugout. He looked up as if he'd been shot. It was: 'that's it, I can't give anymore. I've given everything.' I've never witnessed that before.

"Players like him are few and far between. They are very special players. I think the majority would not have played the way he was feeling on Saturday but he got through 70 minutes."