Rangers finally ended their two-week head coach hunt this week by appointing former Sheffield Wednesday manager Danny Rohl to the hotseat after a protracted and embarrassing search that seen the club rejected by several key targets.
Former manager Steven Gerrard notably turned down the role, citing issues with taxes and relocating his family from the Middle East, whilst former Rangers player Kevin Muscat also walked away from talks citing issues with the footballing recruitment structure, whilst those inside Ibrox claimed it was down to his willingness to alter his start date with the club.
Another early contender who withdrew from the process was former Burnley and Everton boss Sean Dyche, who said he would not like to be considered for the role early in the search, despite his previous links to Rangers sporting director Kevin Thelwell from their time together at the Toffees.
Dyche later took up the role at his hometown club Nottingham Forest, following the two-time European Cup winner’s dismissal of former Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou, and this clears the light on why he turned down the chance of entering the Ibrox dugout.
Speaking to BBC Sport he said: “When I was 16 walking along the Trent all I wanted was to one day put on the [Forest] shirt and then one day I was the manager.
“I thought, don’t lose this moment. You never know in football how long it will last.”
“I was looking around thinking there it is, have that!” He said after his debut win as Forest boss, “I enjoyed that I can assure you.”
We all know in modern football, apart from maybe at Rangers, the process for recruiting a new leader starts well before the under-pressure incumbent of the role departs.
With his dream job at his boyhood club on the horizon, it begins to make sense why Dyche was so set on not entering talks with the Gers.
With the other on-field issues at Ibrox with a confidence derived and underperforming playing squad, aligned with off-field apathy and disillusionment from a close-to riotous fanbase, it makes sense as to why the gravel-voiced Dyche would opt for a club closer to his heart, even if at the time, the role was not yet free.