Nikola Katic believes he would still be at Rangers had Michael Beale replaced Steven Gerrard when he left for Aston Villa.
The Light Blues turned to Giovanni van Bronckhorst but after just over a year in the helm, the Dutchman was axed. He took the club to the Europa League Final and was the kick of a ball away from lifting the trophy while he also won the Scottish Cup. However, the Champions League campaign this season ending with a 'worst ever' tag while they trailed Celtic by nine points ahead of the World Cup shutdown in the title race.
Gerrard with Beale as his No2 brought Katic to the club at the start of that first Ibrox journey and he admits had he known the 42-year-old would be back as manager he would maybe have stayed on in Glasgow. Despite that he knows he made a good move to the Swiss league and it is one that could take him to a higher level again.
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He told Football Scotland: "100 per cent. I had a really good connection with him and enjoyed working with him. He brought me in and I believe he was the guy on the staff who decided a lot.
"If I knew he would be manager in two months maybe I would have stayed but you can’t know that. I made a good move also because the Swiss league is good. It’s surrounded by a lot of top leagues and a lot of scouts and clubs are watching so it’s a good step for me to play good football and go to a higher level.
"I wished him [Beale] luck when he signed for Rangers. It made me happy to see him come back because I knew how happy he was and how much he liked it there and you can see in his interviews he said he he felt he was at home so it’s definitely the right club for him to develop and to win trophies."
Delivering his League Cup Final prediction, he added: "It’ll definitely be 50/50. I give a little bit of an advantage to Rangers from the fan side and everything and I think Rangers are a better team. It’s a cup final and it’s going to be a hard game because nobody wants to risk losing with a stupid mistake.
"The final means a lot to the fans. I know I said 50/50 but I give a little bit of an advantage to Rangers because I think they are a quality side. Celtic are playing good but Rangers are in better form for me."
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