Glasgow Rangers gave the Ibrox faithful something to cheer about heading into the international break as they secured a 3-0 victory over St Mirren in the Premiership.
Steven Davis – who was placed in interim charge following the sacking of Michael Beale – got his first win after the lacklustre 2-1 defeat to Aris Limassol in the Europa League last week, and it moves the Gers up to second in the league table.
Of course, the performances haven’t been great and the Light Blues perhaps benefitted from St Mirren going down to ten men during the first half, but three points may give them a slight confidence boost and the club may have a new manager before their tie against Hibernian in just under two weeks.
Since Beale was relieved of his duties, there have been various names linked with the vacant Ibrox hotseat and James Bisgrove has a big decision to make over the next few days.
Indeed, chairman John Bennett and Bisgrove have travelled down to London on Monday in order to conduct more face-to-face talks with potential candidates and a new boss could potentially be in place before the end of the week.
With the search seemingly nearing an end, who is in line to replace Beale and become just the 19th permanent manager in the club's history?
Who will be the next Rangers manager?
According to Andy Devlin from the Scottish Sun, there are four names in the running to take over the role. Kevin Muscat, Pascal Jansen, Philippe Clement, and Scott Parker are the names listed.
There were of course a few more names linked with the club, including Frank Lampard – yet he wasn’t part of any final stage interview process – while former Sheffield United manager Chris Wilder was even linked with the role.
Of course, these two names hardly set the world on fire when mentioned as prospective bosses, especially considering the pressures faced with taking charge of the Ibrox side.
The four names which Devlin has stated could all offer something different to the woeful Beale regime, although there is a clear weak point – Scott Parker.
Who did Scott Parker last manage?
The former midfielder turned to coaching in 2018 following his retirement as a player in 2017, finishing his career at Fulham.
The 42-year-old has managed three clubs during his relatively short managerial career thus far and his latest role at Club Brugge proved to be extremely underwhelming.
He took over the Belgian side in December 2022 as they had just qualified for the last 16 of the Champions League, yet he managed only 12 matches and was relieved of his duties in March.
This brief spell saw the Englishman win only two matches while overseeing a woeful 7-1 aggregate defeat to Benfica in the Champions League and this clearly proved to be the final straw.
Parker has been out of work since yet finds himself on the shortlist for the Rangers job. Sadly, Bisgrove would be making a big mistake should he appoint the former Fulham boss.
Is Scott Parker a good manager?
The 42-year-old is still in the embryonic stages of his management career in all honesty. Despite leading Fulham and Bournemouth to the Premier League during his spells in charge, he has experienced some lows.
His record at the Cottagers doesn’t exactly make for good reading as he won just 37 of his 105 matches in charge while winning only 1.3 points per match and this is despite playoff success during his first full season.
Following their relegation at the end of the 2020/21 campaign, Parker left by mutual consent and joined fellow Championship side Bournemouth, and it appeared as though this was perhaps his level.
Indeed, he led them back to the top flight having enjoyed a solid season in the second tier and following an opening day victory over Aston Villa, everything appeared rosy at the club.
He was sacked following a dreadful 9-0 defeat to Liverpool and lamented his team’s performance after the game, saying: "This is the toughest day as a player and certainly as a coach.
"This is the toughest and most painful day that I have experienced, for sure. It goes without saying it's a real humbling experience and one which was pretty shell-shocking, really, in the sense of the result.
"And probably not surprised so much, to be honest with you, in the sense of the levels we're playing against here and the quality is just far greater than what we have in this present moment in time at our disposal.”
Whether this outburst played in part in his sacking remains unclear, but it looked as though he wasn’t quite cut out for top flight management.
With his spell at Club Brugge hardly doing wonders for his reputation, it’s a wonder why Parker is in consideration for a role managing the Light Blues.
Will Scott Parker be the next Rangers manager?
Although he appears to be on the four-man shortlist which includes Clement, Jansen and Muscat, Parker must be viewed as the outsider to secure the vacant role at Ibrox.
Club Brugge
12
1
AFC Bournemouth
55
1.82
Fulham
105
1.3
Stats via Transfermarkt
Clement is a three time league title winner, including twice at Club Brugge and was recently in charge of French side AS Monaco. Muscat has won titles in both Japan and Australia and has led Yokohama F Marinos to within touching distance of another league crown.
Jansen may not have won any silverware, yet he is currently flourishing at AZ Alkmaar, regularly challenging the big three of PSV Eindhoven, Ajax, and Feyenoord for supremacy in the country.
Comparing these three names to that of Parker and it's clear there is a big gulf. Bisgrove will need to act swiftly and appoint someone who is capable of coming to Rangers and changing the whole mindset of the club from top to bottom.
If this means upsetting the apple cart, so be it as the Gers need revolution. Parker is simply not the man for the job and his appointment would only bring about more resentment from the Ibrox faithful, that’s for sure.
