Neil Murray believes a new focus should be established before choosing Michael Beale’s replacement.
Philippe Clement has never worked on a project without one. Kevin Muscat learned his trade as a coach under a man who proved at Celtic that he didn’t need one. Former Rangers star Neil Murray can’t believe his old club still doesn’t have one.
Rangers have had a checkered record when it comes to football directors throughout the years. But Murray, a former chief scout and head of recruitment at Ibrox as well as a four-time league champion under Walter Smith, fears his old club will put the cart before the horse if they move forward with plans to replace Michael Beale without first finding someone to take over Ross Wilson’s responsibilities.
It has now been six months since the Ibrox board permitted sporting director Wilson to leave the rising fan rage directed at him after another title chase fell through due to a failed recruitment drive. The move placed Michael Beale in charge of the club’s finances, but with no one above him to keep an eye on how he spent the money, it proved to be another terrible blunder for both the club and the Londoner.
Rangers are on the search for their third manager in less than two years, with Celtic once again leading the way. However, Murray believes that the search for Beale’s replacement on the bottom floor should have begun after they had first installed someone upstairs.
Neil Murray left days after the club launched investigation
“I’ve got to be honest, I’m amazed that Ross Wilson wasn’t replaced,” said the 50-year-old hero of Gers’ nine-in-a-row period, who now works as an agent and for a sports data analysis firm. It’s odd to me.
“If you give a manager the keys to the castle and carte blanche to bring in players then it’s often a high-risk strategy. In Michael Beale’s case, it hasn’t paid off and the club are now two months into a season and expecting a new manager to come in and work with players he might not necessarily want.
