Glasgow Rangers are still struggling to find a new head coach. With Danny Röhl also out of the running, an old acquaintance from China could now return.
Danny Röhl had a good chance of taking up his second head coaching position in recent days, but has now decided against it. According to unanimous reports in the British media, the 36-year-old has turned down Glasgow Rangers, who have thus suffered their second setback in their search for a successor to Russell Martin.
After Steven Gerrard surprisingly decided against a return to his old stomping ground, Röhl came into focus and reportedly impressed the club’s officials in initial talks. Now they have to find another alternative. And it seems that after Gerrard, another old acquaintance is coming into play: Kevin Muscat.
The Australian, who has already been loosely linked with the club in recent days, played for Rangers himself in the 2002/03 season and is now said to be ready for a return as coach. The 52-year-old is currently still under contract with Shanghai Port, which is heading for its second consecutive championship in the Chinese Super League with four matchdays remaining.
And that’s also a problem for Rangers: Muscat’s season doesn’t end until November 22, and it’s unlikely that he’ll be able to leave before then. Muscat has already won the championship in his home country with Melbourne Victory, as well as with Yokohama F. Marinos in Japan.
Who will be on the bench on Saturday?
For Rangers, who have finished runners-up four times in a row, stability is more important than titles for the time being. In Martin’s completely botched four-month tenure, the team managed only one win in seven league games, failed to qualify for the Champions League, and got off to a poor start in the Europa League (two defeats).
Rangers are expected to announce shortly who will be on the bench on Saturday (4 p.m.) when Dundee United visit Ibrox. Originally, the new head coach was supposed to be found by then, but that schedule is now likely to have failed.
Röhl left financially struggling English second division club Sheffield Wednesday shortly before the start of the season, but in his almost two seasons there, he did a lot to promote himself. The former assistant to Hansi Flick first celebrated the club’s unlikely survival in the division and then led them to a respectable 12th place in his second year, putting them in the upper half of the table.