‘Reasonably close’… 49-year-old manager says he very nearly got the Rangers job

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Glasgow Rangers have got through their fair share of managers in recent years.

Over the past 10 years, the Scottish club have had no fewer than seven permanent managers, and only one of those has lasted more than two years in the job.

The Ibrox outfit have got a fair number of appointments wrong over the years, while there have also been some managerial near misses that are worth thinking about.

Pedro Caixinha was undoubtedly one of the worst managers Rangers have had in the modern era, he lasted just six months in the job and has the worst win rate of any manager over the past decade at Ibrox.

Caixinha’s appointment was a mistake, but things could’ve turned out very differently.

Indeed, speaking on the No Tippy Tappy Football Podcast, Gary Rowett has now stated that he was actually very close to getting the Rangers job instead of Caixinha, but the Scottish club went for the Portuguese gaffer instead.

Rowett nearly got the Rangers job

Rowett shared how close he got to managing Rangers.

“I don’t know how close I was to getting it but I met them, it was after I left Birmingham, I didn’t get offered the job, but I remember meeting them and I was told I was down to the last two, I think it was the Portuguese manager, Caixinha, I don’t know how close I was to it, but you look back and you think that would’ve been amazing. I don’t know how close I was but I think I was reasonably close,” Rowett said.

What could’ve been

It’s very interesting to ponder what could’ve happened at Rangers if Rowett had got the job.

He undoubtedly would’ve done a better job than Caixinha, and that could’ve been a curse as well as a blessing.

Indeed, while it would’ve been better at the time, Rowett’s presence may not have led Rangers to eventually appointing Steven Gerrard and winning that long-awaited 55^th league title.

There are so many interesting sliding doors moments in Rangers’ history, and this is certainly one of them.