Rangers’ search for a new head coach is underway after sacking Michael Beale on Sunday evening following a disappointing start of the season that ended with a 3-1 defeat at home to Aberdeen. Former Southampton midfielder Steven Davis has been put in temporary charge while the board searches for a new boss, while a host of former Premier League coaches will be under consideration. Express Sport has looked at four names that could be the right fit.
Dean Smith
Dean Smith is one of the early names mentioned with the possibility of taking over at Ibrox as he is currently out of work after leaving Leicester following their relegation last season. However, the general consensus is that he was not given enough time at the King Power Stadium in order to give the Foxes a chance at survival.
Smith has proven to be a capable boss during his time at Brentford and Aston Villa especially, while Rangers may benefit from the attractive style of play that he implemented in the Championship as opposed to being forced to firefight in the top flight.
Nathan Jones
Nathan Jones will be determined not to be defined by his nightmare spell with Southampton last season and could throw his hat into the ring to be the next Rangers head coach. He lasted three months on the south coast before being sacked but has proven to be a capable boss during two spells with Luton.
Luton were in League Two when Jones first joined in 2016, but across two spells he left them having just guided the club to the Championship play-offs after two promotions to the second tier. Rangers could be the club that Jones proves his doubters wrong should he be tasked with the move up to Scotland.
Jesse Marsch
Former Leeds boss Jesse Marsch has been made one of the early favourites to replace Beale at Rangers, having been out of work since departing Elland Road in February. His high-intensity style of play may appeal to the Ibrox faithful, though the former RB Leipzig boss had been linked with Celtic and did comment on those rumours at the time, praising Rangers’ rivals.
He told the BBC in 2021: “Three or four years ago, being linked with a club like Celtic would literally be an impossibility for me. And now that this is where I am, I always just try to look at it in terms of, ‘what would the project look like?’
“Obviously I know that when you’re the coach of Celtic, winning is the most important thing. I know enough about it to say of course it’s interesting. It’s an amazing club and it would be an honour to even be considered. But I also have a job to do here.”
