Rangers sack Graeme Murty after Old Firm defeat as Steven Gerrard closes in on first managerial post
Gerrard, who is currently in charge of Liverpool Under-18s, could now be announced as the new manager this week
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Your support makes all the difference.Rangers have sacked Graeme Murty following Sunday’s 5-0 defeat by Celtic as the club move closer to appointing Steven Gerrard as his replacement.
Murty took over following the sacking of Pedro Caixinha in October, stepping up from his role with the club’s development squad. He was handed a contract until the end of the season and made public his interest in continuing beyond the summer, but a statement from chairman Dave King before the 4-0 Scottish Cup semi-final loss to Celtic two weeks ago suggested Rangers would look to make a new appointment, and Murty has now left the club.
Gerrard, who is currently in charge of Liverpool Under-18s and is looking for his first managerial role having retired from playing in 2016, could now be announced as the new manager over the coming week.
Gerrard would be pitted against his former Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers in Glasgow, who is currently in charge of Celtic and clinched the Premiership title this weekend. Asked immediately after Sunday’s game about the possibility of facing his former captain, Rodgers said it was disrespectful to Murty to speculate and defended the 43-year-old’s record.
“At the moment there’s a lot of speculation going on around (Gerrard) but I’m a wee bit reluctant to talk about it too much purely because Graeme Murty has been put in a job,” Rodgers said. “Last year he was the Under-20s coach who everyone was talking about. He’s a good guy and it was going well.
“And now because of a couple of defeats and it hasn’t quite worked out, he’s just been thrown to the garbage really and I think it’s very, very discourteous. The guy has gone in there and done his very, very best in, what looks from the outside, very trying and difficult circumstances.”
Murty’s assistant coaches Jimmy Nicholl and Jonatan Johansson will take charge of the team for the remainder of the season, according to Rangers’ statement, suggesting Gerrard would officially take over in the summer.
Rangers said: “Rangers are grateful to Graeme, who did not hesitate when asked last October to become interim manager after the departure of Pedro Caixinha and then, at the turn of the year, when he was offered the role as manager until the end of the season.
“Graeme has had to contend with difficult and challenging circumstances but conducted himself in a thoroughly professional manner. He will take some time to consider his options, which include returning to his role at the Rangers Academy.
“Jimmy Nicholl and Jonatan Johansson have already started preparing the team for the match against Kilmarnock on Saturday and they will be in place for the two remaining fixtures, against Aberdeen and Hibernian.
“The club hopes to be in a position to comment further on the managerial situation in the near future.”
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