Rangers supporters have finally had something to cheer about in the Transfer Tavern this week after seeing their side beat Aberdeen on Wednesday, yet they remain none the wiser as to who their next manager will be.
Pedro Caixinha was relieved of his duties as Gers boss back on October 26 after overseeing a sluggish start to the campaign, which included an embarrassing Europe League defeat to minnows Progres Niederkorn from Luxembourg. Since then, former Reading and Southampton defender Graeme Murty has taken caretaker charge, and he led the side to a mightily impressive 3-0 success over second place Aberdeen on Wednesday night, with a brace from James Tavernier as well as a Carlos Pena strike enough to seal the win for the Gers, moving them to within three points of Derek McInnes’ men in the Scottish Premiership table.
Thus, there has been many delighted Rangers fans in the Tavern this week, although several are getting increasingly frustrated with how long it is taking their side to appoint a full time manager, what with it well over a month since Caixinha was sacked.
However, there could be some movement on the managerial front if the bookies are anything to go by, as former Middlesbrough manager Aitor Karanka has seen his odds drastically shorten in recent times to 7/1 to be the next Gers chief.
And the 44-year-old could be the ideal man for Rangers, as although things didn’t end terribly well at Boro, he transformed them from a struggling Championship team to a top-flight outfit, and could do a similar job in the long-term to take Rangers back to the glory days.
Ultimately, when Karanka took over at the Riverside Stadium back in 2013, the North East side had just finished 16th in the second tier of English football, and as such were a far cry away from the club that just a few years previous were comfortably sat in the middle of the Premier League table.
Yet Karanka went in there and immediately made Middlesbrough difficult to beat – in his first full season in charge, they reached the Championship play-offs and conceded just 37 goals over the course of the campaign, the fewest of any side in the division.
And although they weren’t able to clinch promotion, Karanka’s side went one better the season after by securing the second automatic promotion place – again, their success was built on defensive solidarity with just 31 goals conceded that season, again the least of any side.
Yes, things didn’t quite work out in the top-flight last term, but that shouldn’t detract from the incredible job Karanka did turning around the fortunes of Middlesbrough, and that must be of interest to the Rangers hierarchy.
Ultimately, the 44-year-old would go to Ibrox and immediately make the Gers tricky to score against and beat. More importantly though, he could be the man for the long-term, that someone who could rebuild the club back to its former glories – he took Boro back to the Premier League, he could take Rangers back to the summit of Scottish football.
And given how far Celtic are ahead of them at the moment, the 44-year-old could be exactly what they need to bridge that gap to the Bhoys over the coming years.
Rangers fans… what do you think? Let us know!
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