They say it's better the devil you know and the Ibrox board could go for a familiar face as the hunt begins for Giovanni van Bronckhorst's successor with Michael Beale the odds-on favourite to make a Rangers return.
The Londoner made a flying start to his first job as a manager at QPR after going out on his own following stints as Steven Gerrard's sidekick at both Rangers and then Aston Villa. However, he is currently on a five-game winless run with four of those defeats as he gets to grips with life out on his own.
Is it enough to merit taking over as manager of Rangers? Or would someone like Sean Dyche with a wealth of Premier League experience be more suited to such a pressure job? It's been reported that Dyche isn't interested in the vacancy while others such as former Rangers full back Kevin Muscat seem keen. Or what about a sensation return for Gerrard himself? There are so many names being thrown about and here Record Sport looks at what three former players have said about who should get it.
Kris Boyd
“Sean Dyche is the one I would go and get. The last time something like this happened at Rangers was under Paul Le Guen and Walter Smith came back.
“You’ll never get another Walter Smith but you can get someone with the same beliefs and principles and Sean Dyche is of that ilk. Michael Beale has been there and understands the club. Would he be a good fit? He probably would be because the boys know him as well and spoke really highly of him.
“It’s a city like no other and the pressure is on you all the time. The intensity is daily. You can’t even go to the supermarket without people asking you questions and when you stop to fill your car up people want to know what’s going on.
“It can be difficult to deal with but there are signs about Michael Beale that he looks like someone who could deal with stuff like that.
“It’s a massive job, no doubt about it. Would it be the next step for Michael Beale? Yeah. No disrespect to the Championship but Rangers are a step up in terms of the size of club and the pressure and demands.
“I was surprised he turned down the Wolves job but if he ends up getting the Rangers job on the back of turning that down then you have to say it was a good decision. He won’t get a bigger job than Rangers in terms of the stature and size of the football club. It’s a really good opportunity to show he can do it in Europe.”
Kenny Miller
“There’s loads of names that spring to mind, you’ve got the likes of Sean Dyche who’s got connections to Ross Wilson, the same with Ralph Hasenhuttl.
“One for me that would be right at the top of the list would be Michael Beale. His name’s been bandied about over the last month while Rangers have been toiling.
“He fits, he knows the club, he knows the players. There would be no surprises with him walking back into the building in terms of the demands and the expectations of the football club and he’s started off his own journey as a manager pretty well as well so I think he’d be right at the top of the list.”
Alex Rae
"If you look at Sean Dyche, with the experience he has, he'll need reassurance there's money to be spent to give him a fighting chance. Celtic have spent in the last few transfer windows, so whoever comes in will need a guarantee for signings to be made in the transfer windows.
" Steven Gerrard would seriously have to consider the job. It hasn't worked out for him at Aston Villa, now he has the opportunity to come back to Rangers, which has almost presented itself to him, it might be a case of him coming back to somewhere he's familiar with and worked with the board previously.
"The manager will still have a good relationship with the board, don't forget Rangers got £4million for him to leave, so I'm sure Gerrard will seriously consider it. However, I would be very surprised if Rangers went down that road again, especially with the way Gerrard left. I’m not sure whether a certain section of fans would welcome Gerrard back.
"There are also links to Beale, who has been heavily linked in recent months. He's done a good job at QPR. Maybe Chris Wilder too who did really well with Sheffield United, there are guys with good experience. I'll be fascinated to see what Rangers do
”I know for a fact that Michael Beale was very comfortable in Glasgow, so that might be a pull. I'm very surprised he did not take the Wolves job. If Rangers came knocking, it will be a more difficult decision for him to not come because he's had previous links with Rangers during their successful period. The Rangers fans really want Michael Beale to be a Rangers manager somewhere down the line.
"There's been a lot of speculation, my old teammate Kevin Muscat who just won the title in Japan, he's been linked as well. Muscat will be very much in tune with the transfer market and the J-League, which is something Rangers might consider to connect with a different market.
"The one things about Muscat, he is familiar with Rangers being a former player. It's an interesting one, it boils down to what the criteria is and what Rangers are looking for. If Rangers are looking to explore different markets, then Muscat will be the front-runner for the job. Some of the Japanese players who came to Celtic who have done really well and hit the ground running, at a reasonable price, so if that's what Rangers want to do then Muscat will be the priority. “
READ NEXT
