Next Rangers manager odds: Ex-Millwall, Liverpool & Aston Villa men among favourites as ex-Everton & Leeds United pair listed
Scottish Premiership giants Rangers are on the hunt for a permanent manager come the end of the season
A former Millwall player is among the names tipped to potentially take over at Rangers on a permanent basis. Former Ibrox favourite Barry Ferguson has been appointed as manager until the end of the season after Philippe Clement was sacked last month.
The decision came after a 2-0 loss to St Mirren in the Scottish Premiership. Rivals Celtic are running away with the title as the Light Blues face a major task to overhaul their fierce rivals in the coming seasons. Ferguson won his opening game in charge of Rangers as they beat Kilmarnock 4-2 away from home but last weekend he was brought crashing back down to earth with a 2-1 home loss to Motherwell.
Reaction to Rangers 1-2 Motherwell
Reflecting on the loss, Ferguson said: “It’s clear they will suffer a heavy defeat. I’m not going to sit here and try and kid people on. That level of performance, certainly in the first half, is nowhere near the standards that are needed. It’s my job now in this short period of time and I’m going to just go and work my backside off to make sure this gets sorted.
“I spoke to them in the dressing room, they understand it. Rangers fans can accept you not playing well. What Rangers fans can’t accept is when your team gets run over the top of in the first 45 minutes. Yeah, we created a few half-chances, but I said on Friday, when you’re playing at Ibrox, you need to be the dominant force. Motherwell dominated us in the first half. Did we dominate them in the second half? At times, but not enough.”
Former Celtic manager Neil Lennon admitted he was shocked by the result and described the gap between the clubs as a “chasm”. He said: “It’s a chasm. I couldn’t believe the result from Ibrox on Saturday. I thought with Barry going in there, when he made the change against Kilmarnock, it was a positive one. It was brave, and they got the result and the performance.
“You’re thinking, well, maybe there’s a bit of momentum there, but they go the other way. So there’s a huge fragility there in the squad. And whoever takes over, whether it be Barry or somebody else, everyone talks about a rebuild. For me, it’s a change of culture and psychology, really, more than anything else. I think they’ve got some good players there, but obviously the psychology of the team isn’t right.
“They do well when they’re not expected to do well. And when they are expected to win games, they can’t do it. So that needs to change. I think they have to get things right domestically, first and foremost, before they think about anything else. They need to be far more consistent in the league, far more consistent in the cup competitions. Because if they go out to Fenerbahce in the Europa League, the season’s done. We’re only in March.”
Next Rangers manager odds
Steven Gerrard and Russell Martin are the current joint favourites to take over on a permanent basis while Ferguson is slightly behind the pair in the betting. Ex-Huddersfield Town and Norwich Town coach David Wagner is among those tipped while ex-Millwall player Derek McInnes is also among the leading contenders. The ex-midfielder has been in charge of Kilmarnock in Scotland since 2022. Following him in the betting is ex-Everton boss Sean Dyche and former Leeds United manager Jesse Marsch.
All odds are courtesy of Gambling.com
Russell Martin - 7/1
David Wagner - 10/1
Sean Dyche - 16/1