Experienced boss George Burley believes that Rangers should have appointed a Scotsman after Mark Warburton left in February, specifically naming Alex McLeish.
The Ibrox giants had a difficult first season back in the Premiership in the last campaign which grew worse after Warburton and his coaching staff resigned from their positions in February with the Nottingham Forest job in question.
Many big names were linked with taking over the reigns of the prestigious club and McLeish was also linked with a return, but in March the club turned to the relatively unknown Pedro Caixinha.
Now, the 46-year-old is coming under much criticism following the club’s humiliating Europa League knockout and Burley believes that a “safe pair of hands” would have been much better suited for the job.
“It’s sad for me to see the state Rangers are in but I don’t blame Pedro at all. He’s only been there for a matter of months,” told Burley, as quoted by the Scottish Sun.
“Rangers made huge decision. We know the club has been in disarray financially and everything else for the last ten years.
“They had a bit of stability, reached the top league then Mark Warburton left for whatever reason.
“Surely they should have been looking for a safe pair of hands or a young Scottish manager with potential.
“They haven’t gone down that route so they are the only ones to blame.
“It’s a shame and it’s not right for the Scottish game or for Rangers.
“An option as a safe pair of hands would have been someone like Alex McLeish, surely? They could have had a young boss working with him.
“They could have brought in a young Scottish manager or at least a British one.
“There are lot of young Scottish managers with ability, there are experienced ones as well.
“If I’m a young Scottish manager I’d have been thinking I might have a chance of a job there, then that was taken away. You see some managers, no disrespect, from abroad being put into that job. Bringing in a Portuguese manager at this stage while Rangers still have a lot of work to do is a big gamble — and so far it hasn’t worked.”
Rangers finished the 2016-17 Premiership campaign in third place and an almighty 39 points behind fierce rivals and league winners Celtic.
The club’s only saving grace was that a Europa League campaign was awaiting if they made it through the qualifiers.
But, now with that even gone the club’s supporters will be hoping for vast improvements in the league table with as many as nine players all joining the Glasgow-based club this summer.