Kilmarnock manager Steve Clarke has revealed that he was approached by Rangers to become the man in charge at Ibrox.
Clarke’s team were on the receiving end of a stuffing in Glasgow on Wednesday night as Steven Gerrard’s side ran away 5-0 winners over Killie.
However, Clarke revealed a startling snippet of information after the game: “When I was approached by Rangers about taking over the job here I was assured, nah, we didn’t have that [alleged sectarian abuse] in the west of Scotland anymore and it had gone. Hahaha,” he said at his post match press conference, as per The Scottish Sun.
The former West Bromwich Albion boss had previously stated that he hadn’t been offered the job at Ibrox.
OPINION
This is interesting, and unexpected, from Clarke, isn’t it? It seems as if the Kilmarnock manager is referring to the period before Gerrard was appointed as Rangers chief last summer and, to be honest, it would make sense for the club to have approached someone like Clarke. He has done a magnificent job at Rugby Park and so it would be natural to talk to him and gauge his interest on potentially taking the reins at Ibrox. On paper he would have been a safer pair of hands than Gerrard, though whether he would have had the transformative effect that the Liverpool legend has had in Glasgow is unknown. Having said that, we’ve ended up with a good situation for both clubs, who are in good hands with their respective managers. It’s interesting to hear Clarke reveal he was approached by Rangers now, having denied it in the past. Perhaps it was a reaction to the abuse he claims he received from the home fans at Ibrox, but it’s an interesting snippet of information nonetheless.