Are Rangers looking for Mark Warburton’s replacement in all the wrong ways?

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There has been mystery surrounding the departure of Mark Warburton from Rangers, but what we know for sure is that he leaves the Glasgow club in third place in the Scottish Premiership and 27 points behind great rivals Celtic.

Although there have been numerous names linked with replacing the Englishman at the helm at Ibrox, there is one clearly leading the way with former players, fans and bookmakers alike – Alex McLeish.

According to three former Rangers players Gordon Smith, Barry and Derek Ferguson, McLeish – who was in charge of Rangers for five years until 2006 – has been said to be the “ideal fit” to be the new Rangers manager.

Some of the other names linked with replacing Warburton are: Graeme Murty, former Reading defender who is currently in caretaker charge of Rangers; Derek McInnes, who played for Rangers for almost five years; and Frank de Boer, Dutch legend who was in charge of Inter Milan which lasted for 14 games before he was sacked, and who briefly played for Rangers back in 2004.

The main theme: Rangers are looking for a new manager who has already experienced the club. This is exactly what former Rangers captain, Barry Ferguson, told BBC Scotland:

 “I think we need a Rangers man back in there. There’s a lot of good Rangers men out there and a lot of good managers out there.

“But, for me, we need someone who knows the club inside out and Alex certainly does that.”

Barry Smith also validates this point by saying:

 “They will want to try and get someone who has a previous track record with Rangers either as a player or as a manager.”

Which begs the question: Why is this? Why are they looking for someone who needs to be a Rangers man already?

Understandably, people want a manager who knows the club inside out, but with McInnes insisting the job doesn’t interest him and Murty claiming he won’t be putting his name forward for the position, and insisting he would not be arrogant enough to push for it, surely Rangers should be looking for the best manager available for the job as opposed to trying to force the job onto a former associate, who may not actually want it?

Or, again, why are they pushing for a manager who has previously played professional football? There have been many successful managers who have not actually been a player at the elite level.

For example, former Chelsea manager Andre Villas-Boas came nowhere near playing the game professionally and owes his coaching career to Bobby Robson, where working for Robson at Porto, he obtained his coaching qualification.

At the age of 32, he took the top job at Liga side Academica and won the league and cup double and the Europa League in his one season in Portugal, before heading to Chelsea the following year. He lasted less than a season with the Blues, and little more than one at Tottenham, before finding roles at Zenit St Petersburg and, now, Shanghai SIPG.

Even current Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers never played a competitive game, with knee problems forcing him to retire as a player at age 20. Rodgers made his name at the Chelsea Academy under Mourinho, before brief stints as boss at Watford and Reading. He then led Swansea to promotion to the Premier League, which earned him the Liverpool job, almost winning the title in 2014. He took the Celtic job last summer after being sacked in 2015.

Rangers could be looking for a new manager in all the wrong ways. Instead of restricting themselves to Rangers-men-only – who may not actually want the job – they could broaden their horizons by looking at successful managers outside their own club.

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For example, former Swansea boss, Garry Monk, would be an ideal target. Monk has Leeds firmly in the Premier League promotion hunt and is regarded as one of the top emerging bosses south of the border. He fits the profile of a modern manager being young and full of fresh ideas and could be tempted by the lure of a battle for European football.

As it stands, Rangers seem to be looking for a former Rangers man to fill Warburton’s boots. However, maybe they would find better prospects if they opened up their search pool to successful managers from other clubs and not undermine the power that managers without a professional playing career can have.