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Rangers all-time leading goalscorer Ally McCoist believes his old club should have appointed the England and Chelsea legend last time around
Ally McCoist wants the 49ers to consider appointing England and Chelsea icon Frank Lampard as Rangers next permanent manager - admitting his former club should have been strongly mentioned in the recruitment process last time around.
With legendary ex-Ibrox captain Barry Ferguson overseeing first-team affairs on an interim basis until the end of the season amid the impending 49ers Enterprises takeover of the Govan giants, a longer term option is being sought after by the incoming US consortium.
It’s understood American businessman Andrew Cavenagh and current Leeds United chairman Paraag Marathe will seek a ‘household name’ to succeed Philippe Clement in the Light Blues’ hot seat with Steven Gerrard touted for a possible return to Glasgow.
Rafa Benitez is another name that has been mentioned as Rangers look to make inroads on the gap to arch rivals Celtic with Ferguson unlikely to be deemed a serious candidate to land the job permanently despite beating Jose Mourinho’s Fenerbahce side 3-1 in Istanbul last week.
McCoist, however, admits he would try to wrestle Lampard away from Coventry City, having previously been interviewed for the Gers job after Michael Beale was sacked. At the time, he received the backing of Graeme Souness, who recommended Lampard after being involved in the selection process.
He missed out to Clement on that occasion, but has impressed since taking over at Coventry last November, with the Sky Blues sitting fifth in the English Champions table and right in the mix from promotion to the Premier League via the playoffs.
McCoist believes he deserves another chance. Speaking to talkSPORT BET, he said: “Rangers should have gone for Frank Lampard before he went to Coventry.
“I’ve said this for a while and I think he could’ve been like Steven Gerrard in the way that they come to the club with the hunger to succeed, as I always felt that he was overly criticised for some of the results at his previous jobs, he looks to have found his feet.
“I must admit Barry Ferguson’s appointment surprised me; I thought it was left field. I’m a Rangers supporter and I want the boys to do well, but it surprised me alongside the rest of the supporters – although that doesn’t mean we’re not all behind him.
“I wasn’t surprised about Philippe Clement losing the job. I get it, personally I thought that he might have a chance due to their European results, but I can see why you’d get the sack off the back of the Queen’s Park and Motherwell defeats.
“They’re so far from Celtic in the league and out of the cup, domestically they haven’t been good enough. I wasn’t surprised and I’ll never say I’m pleased to see a manager get fired, but I wasn’t disappointed.
“As far as other candidates go, Steven Gerrard coming back wouldn’t disappoint me, he knows the club well and has a point to prove. There’s talk of Rafa Benitez and Derek McInnes – Derek knows the club well and I’d be happy with him, the ship may have sailed for him though.
“I can guarantee you that with the new owners coming in, the Rangers job will be heavily sought after and hopefully they can get the right man in to take them forward.”
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