News seemingly broke this morning that Rangers had made their final decision on their available Head Coach position.
Credible sources such as Premier Sports and the transfer guru, Fabrizio Romano himself, posted online that former Southampton and Swansea City boss and ex-Rangers loanee Russell Martin was set to be appointed in the role at Ibrox.
However, sources close to the club such as Heart and Hand and the Rangers Review have since posted that discussions with different candidates remain ongoing at Rangers and that no final decision had yet been made.
With Steven Gerrard out of the running, Martin and Davide Ancelotti are the only two names left in the running, and it had seemed earlier that Martin had received an offer from the new Ibrox board.
But rumours persist this could be a tactic from Rangers to get Ancelotti to make a decision quicker, or from Ancelotti’s camp to cover their scents.
We believe it could, however, be a tactic from within the Ibrox boardroom. When Rangers sacked Michael Beale and had not yet appointed Phillipe Clement there was a leak regarding former Chelsea manager Frank Lampard being set to take the role.
The fan reaction was lukewarm at best and viciously against at worst to this news and Rangers quickly ended their interest in Lampard and appointed the Belgian instead.
Could they have been testing the waters of the fan reaction then? And are they doing it again now with the Martin leak?
This is a different Rangers board, one without as many ‘Rangers men’ on the board, so would they be persuaded by fan reaction. We do not yet know their thought processes or how they go about business, but it is certainly a possibility.
No announcement has yet been made on the new permanent boss at Ibrox, but we are certainly close to the end game. Stay tuned to Inside Ibrox for any updates as they come.