Former EPL boss reckons Ancelotti will become successful head coach
A former English Premier League manager has claimed that Davide Ancelotti would be a "great appointment" for Rangers after getting a first-hand insight into his coaching methods at Real Madrid.
Rangers were taken over last week by a US consortium led by Andrew Cavenagh and 49ers Enterprises, the investment arm of the San Francisco 49ers. Cavenagh, who has taken up the role of chairman, and newly appointed sporting director Kevin Thelwell are leading the managerial recruitment process with ex-Southampton boss Martin now reckoned to be the hot favourite.
Rangers managerial candidate Davide Ancelotti on the Real Madrid touchline with his father, Carlo Ancelotti.Rangers managerial candidate Davide Ancelotti on the Real Madrid touchline with his father, Carlo Ancelotti.
Rangers managerial candidate Davide Ancelotti on the Real Madrid touchline with his father, Carlo Ancelotti. | Getty Images
Ancelotti has never managed on his own but has a wealth of coaching experience at the highest level having served as assistant to his father, Carlo, most recently at Real Madrid, and previously at Bayern Munich, Napoli and Everton.
Former Stoke City gaffer Tony Pulis has backed Ancelotti for the Rangers gig after watching him up close and personal on the Real Madrid training pitch. Pulis, who managed 277 games in the EPL, insists he saw enough from the Italian to suggest that he has what it takes to follow in his father’s foobecome a successful boss in his own right.
"If they're (new owners) prepared to invest, there needs to be a lot of air in the bag at Rangers for someone to go in there now and be successful. Being successful is to get really a lot closer to what Brendan Rodgers has done at Celtic. So it'll be interesting. They tell me there's two or three top managers involved in respect of getting a job there so it’ll be interesting who they go for.
"I know Davide Ancelotti. I went over to Madrid last year doing the academy program and I watched him work. I spoke with him. Obviously, Carlo Ancelotti is legendary in football, especially in my era. But I was very, very impressed with Davide. He had a very, very good way about himself personally. I watched him coach and he was very organised.
"The work that they did was very, very good. He was right on top of it. Carlo actually took a backwards step, really, in respect of letting Davide do it all. So he's worked with top players. He's been very successful with his dad and maybe for him to have a go himself. Are Rangers the right club for him?
"Davide would be for me a great appointment in respect that they've got someone new, someone fresh, someone who's dynamic enough to want to be successful. The next thing is, have they got the right people recruiting the right players that are necessary to get that club closer to Celtic?"