Alex McLeish has revealed that he has not had any contact with Rangers even though bookies have suspended betting on him being appointed the club’s next manager.
Ladbrokes have taken down their market on the next manager of the Glasgow giants following a run of bets triggered by their defeat to Dundee on Friday night.
But ex-Ibrox boss McLeish insisted that he has not had any discussions with Rangers chiefs as he poured cold water on the possibility of a return to the club he managed for five years from 2001 to 2006.
“I would like it to be known that there has been no contact from anyone at Rangers and it’s important that the speculation is put to rest,” McLeish told the Scottish Sun, as quoted by journalist Robert Grieve on his personal Twitter account.
Bookies have suspended betting on Alex McLeish returning to Rangers but Big Eck has told @scotsunsport “I would like it to be known that there has been no contact from anyone at Rangers and it’s important that the speculation is put to rest.”
— Robert Grieve (@robert_grieve) November 27, 2017
Derek McInnes had been favourite following the departure of Pedro Caixinha, but emphatically distanced himself from the role on Friday as he committed his future to Aberdeen.
After a sustained amount of betting activity the league sponsors stopped taking bets on who will be the next Rangers manager.
David Macdonald of Ladbrokes said, as quoted by the Scotsman: ”Money talks and the bets we’ve seen suggest Alex Mcleish is on the verge of returning to Rangers.
OPINION
The bookmakers’ odds are usually a good gauge of the manager searches undertaken by big clubs, and the suspension of the Rangers market strongly suggested that odds-on favourite McLeish was nailed on for a return to the club he steered to seven trophies, including the 2002-03 treble, during his time at the club. But the 58-year-old has not so much poured cold water on the possibility, as a bucket of ice. We must take him at face value when he asserts that he has had no contact with Rangers. What this tells us is that he is not even a major target, in yet another bizarre twist to a managerial search that is taking on excruciating proportions for their huge fanbase. If McLeish is not the favourite, then who is? And, are Rangers any closer to landing a new manager? Do the Ibrox chiefs even have any idea?