Rangers can forget Dyche & Gerrard by hiring"outstanding" Martin upgrade
da supremo： Russell Martin’s days as Glasgow Rangers manager are surely numbered.
da poker： To date, the shortest-serving permanent head coach in the Ibrox club’s 153-year history is Pedro Caixinha, who took charge of just 26 games in 2017.
For Martin to reach that mark, he would still need to be in charge by the time the Light Blues face Braga in the Europa League on 27 November which, right now, feels frankly fanciful.
On Saturday, the Gers were beaten 2-0 by Heart of Midlothian at Ibrox, meaning they’ve failed to win their opening five league fixtures for only the second time in their entire history, also doing so in 1978, currently sat tenth in the Premiership table.
Thus, supporters are already wondering who will replace Martin as manager, hoping the 49ers make this decision sooner rather than later, but should they go for a more left-field candidate, one praised for the “outstanding” job he did at his previous club, rather than the obvious options?
Leading candidates to become Rangers manager
According to reports, the two front-runners to become the new Rangers manager are Steven Gerrard and Sean Dyche.
Gerrard has been out of work since being sacked by Saudi Pro League side Al-Ettifaq in January, having won only 19 of 55 matches in charge.
His time as Aston Villa boss didn’t go particularly well either, but the Liverpool legend did enjoy a very successful time at Ibrox.
In 192 matches as Rangers boss, Gerrard collected 124 wins, leading them to memorable European victories over Porto, Feyenoord, Braga, Galatasaray and others, historically guiding the club to their sole top-flight title since 2011, crucially denying Celtic ten-in-a-row.
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Other candidate, Dyche, meantime was sacked by Everton in January, but is best known for his work at Burnley, leading them to two promotions, six successive seasons in the top division and a maiden European campaign since 1967.
The Englishman is vastly experienced, having managed 332 Premier League games; for comparison, Martin has overseen just 16, winning only one.
Dyche would represent the archetypal safe pair of hands appointment, while re-hiring Gerrard would suggest the new owners are simply looking to the past to rediscover former glories, so they should instead target an up-and-coming young coach.
Rangers' dream Russell Martin replacement
When searching through the current out-of-work managers, one name leaps off the page and that is Danny Röhl.
Reports emerged over the summer that he was on the Gers’ shortlist, but it’s unknown if any contact was made.
After an unremarkable playing career, appearing for lower league German clubs FSV Zwickau, Sachsen Leipzig and Eilenburg, he retired at the age of 21 to focus on becoming a coach.
Well, this has certainly paid off because, after joining RB Leipzig in 2010, he worked as a youth coach and a video analyst before being appointed assistant manager in 2016, following die Roten’s promotion to the Bundesliga, working alongside Ralph Hasenhüttl.
After that, he went with Hasenhüttl to Southampton, before moving on to Bayern Munich, learning under Niko Kovač and then Hansi Flick at the Rekordmeister, subsequently working under Flick again with the German national team for two years.
However, after Flick was sacked as die Mannschaft boss in 2023, he took his first head coach role, appointed Sheffield Wednesday manager, thereby becoming the youngest permanent boss in EFL history at the age of just 34.
Well, Röhl would oversee 89 games in charge at Hillsborough, very much beloved by supporters, with Philip Buckingham of the Athletic describing the job he did in charge of the Owls as “outstanding”, suggesting that numerous big clubs should “covet” his signature.
The table below documents his statistics from his time in Yorkshire.
Röhl at Sheffield Wednesday
Statistics
Röhl
Matches
89
Wins
34
Draws
19
Loses
36
Win %
38%
Goals scored
122
Goals conceded
137
First league finish
20th
Second league finish
12th
Via Transfermarkt
While finishing 20th and then 12th may not appear spectacular, worth noting that, in his first season, when the German arrived in October, Sheffield Wednesday had failed to win any of their first 13 EFL Championship fixtures, losing ten of them, collecting 14 points from their final six matches to pull off a great escape.
Meantime, last season’s mid-table finish looks even more impressive given that owner Dejphon Chansiri is essentially running the club into the ground, with players and other staff repeatedly not being paid on time, if at all, hence why Röhl walked out over the summer.
Rangers themselves have already benefited from the crisis at Hillsborough, signing star winger Djeidi Gassama for around £3m, when it is clear to everyone he is worth more than that.
Thus, Röhl has already proven that he is capable of managing a crisis club, as well as coming in and having an instant impact mid-season, all things Rangers need right now, so the 49ers should be bold and appoint the 36-year-old as soon as possible.