Rangers next manager candidate 'withdraws' from race leaving clear frontrunner as reason given

The 36-year-old German coach was believed to be under serious consideration for the role by Ibrox bosses having held positive discussions in recent days. However, the former Sheffield Wednesday boss is now said to have informed the Glasgow giants that he no longer wishes to be considered for the vacancy.

Rangers have been searching for a new manager since taking the decision to sack Russell Martin on October 5 following a 1-1 draw with Falkirk - a result which left the club languishing in eighth position in the Scottish Premiership after seven matches, 11 points behind leaders Hearts and nine behind Celtic.

Former Rangers manager Steven Gerrard was initially targeted for a return to the club but after flying from Bahrain to meet club chairman Andrew Cavenagh and vice-chairman Paraag Marathe in London last week, the ex-Liverpool captain turned down the chance to manage Rangers for a second time.

Rohl has now become the second manager to reject Rangers’ advances, leaving ex-Ibrox defender Kevin Muscat as the clear frontrunner amid speculation the club is lining up Neil McCann for an interim period in charge until he assists his former team-mate.

Sky Germany reporter Florian Plettenburg posted an update on X which read: “Danny Rohl has turned Rangers down and informed the club today that he is not available.

“Although there had been several good discussions and he had become one of the top candidates for Rangers, the more detailed talks led to Rohl pulling out.

“From his perspective, the timing just isn’t right at the moment.”

Previously an assistant manager at RB Leipzig, Bayern Munich and the Germany national team, Rohl had steered Wednesday out of relegation trouble in the Sky Bet Championship in 2023/24. He led The Owls to a 12th-place league finish in his only full season as a manager before leaving the troubled Yorkshire club in July.

It has also been confirmed that Rangers have not re-approached Gerrard despite bookmakers’ odds on his return to Ibrox tumbling. Several bookmakers on Wednesday showed that Gerrard, who won the Scottish Premiership title with Rangers in 2021, was back among the favourites for the post, however, there has been no new talks between the two parties.

Muscat, who has had talks with the Govan club, has guided Shanghai Port to top spot in the Chinese Super League, two points clear with four games left. Their domestic season ends on November 22.

The 52-year-old won a domestic treble with Rangers in 2003 in his only season at Ibrox and as a manager he has won titles in Australia, Japan and China with Melbourne Victory, Yokohama F Marinos and Shanghai Port.

Other names on the bookmakers’ lists include former Manchester United player and boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Hearts boss Derek McInnes, ex-Chelsea and West Ham boss Graham Potter and former Wolves manager Gary O’Neil.

Rangers return from the international break with a home game against Dundee United on Saturday.