The Annual Rangers Manager Hunt: 2025

Well, it’s that time of year again in Scotland. No not Halloween, just the annual Rangers manager hunt. As Brett covered in his recent article there has been a recurring theme of poor performance, manager sacked, bit of an up turn and then rinse and repeat. It’s that bad that our rival fans even have a circular graphic dubbed up and whilst there is always an element of banter to be had at your rival’s expense, this one probably isn’t too far off in recent years.

Time and again we’ve gone into the market and to be fair, we have made some hires that should have worked, at least on paper. Phil Clement wasn’t some nobody, he was a multiple league winner in Belgium, Michael Beale, despite arguing with fans on his burner account following his sacking and other poor personal conduct, was widely acknowledged as the brains behind the tactics which led to 55. Gio took us on a wild ride to the Europa final and came close to winning it but was sacked just a few short months later.

So why have all these candidates failed in the role? That should be exactly the question being considered by Andrew Cavenagh and Paraag Marathe consider when appointing the next permanent Rangers manager to wrestle Celtic for domestic glory and to make an impact in the UEFA competitions.

Patrick Stewart announced in early 2025 that he had commissioned an external review of footballing operations at Ibrox, and this question must have been right at the heart of the review. The output from this review suggested Rangers should move away from the traditional Manager role to a more modern setup, led by a sporting director, with a head coach handling team selection, coaching and tactics whilst the Sporting Director looked after all the other areas.

One thing to bear in mind with this review, like any others, is there isn’t a “right” approach of how a club should be setup. These guys will have experience of the game and have likely helped other clubs to establish a track record but ultimately, they are offering their own opinion and presenting it as a path to take to earn their commission.

Now I’m not a professional, however I do wonder if this external company have fully grasped that Rangers are not just any another club. The Old Firm is widely acknowledged as being in a small group of unique clubs where expectation is above and beyond what is normal at other clubs. At Rangers a loss is unthinkable, a draw is akin to a crisis and the manager must be much more than just a coach.

Looking back at Russell Martin’s time in charge, it’s clear he struggled with the expectations of the club, and his character wasn’t suited to the intense pressure and focus laid at the feet of a Rangers Manager (or head coach.) In short, the Ibrox job, invites a cauldron of pressure on the person in the hotseat and as much as anything else, this is key to success at our club.

If you look back through the history of Rangers, the most successful coaches have also been huge characters. Would you ever have seen Bill Struth, Walter Smith or Graeme Souness talking about nerves, fragility and harmony? I think we all know the answer to that is a resounding no. They would have fronted up to the fans, admitted it wasn’t good enough and fixed it, quickly.

They would have done this because they understood the ethos of the club was to win, it didn’t always need to be pretty, in fact Smith’s run to the UEFA Cup final was anything but pretty but he made it happen because not only did he command the respect of the fans, he also commanded the respect of his dressing room, players would run through walls for him and this translated onto the pitch.

So what do we need from the next Rangers manager? Well obviously we need someone to improve team cohesion, we need someone to install some half decent tactics, we need to be able to believe in the team and players again, we need some heart out on the pitch but above anything else, we need someone with the character and presence, an aura if you will.

The last criteria is why I question Stewart’s review now. I don’t think someone who is content to turn up, put out the bibs and cones and go home again is what Rangers need. We need a character in the vein of previous greats, someone people will fight for, someone the fans can identify with and anyone who fits that category is unlikely to come to the club as a “head coach.” They will want and demand more control over the team, the environment and the club and until we are dragged back to stability by such a character, the modern setup should wait!