4-4-2 Boss is the ‘most likely candidate’ to replace Rangers’ role

Glasgow Rangers head coach Danny Rolle faces an uncertain future with the Scottish Premiership outfit this week amid increased interest from Austrian side RB Salzburg.

The Bundesliga side are in talks with the Scottish giants over the possibility of hiring the former Sheffield Wednesday tactician as their new manager, which would leave Gers in need of a new head coach.

However, Rohr is reportedly not pushing to leave the club and it is all up to Salzburg to agree a compensation package with Rangers to facilitate a subsequent move.

The Light Blues chose to back the former Bayern Munich and Germany manager at the end of the season despite losing four of their five games after the split and finishing third in the league, 10 points behind first-placed Celtic.

Rohr, who has maintained his faith in his manager after a disastrous season, could leave Ibrox for a move to Salzburg in the coming days.

Rangers considering Premiership manager appointment

A 5-2 win over Falkirk on the final day of the season, with their place in the table already assured, was the German manager’s only win since the split.

The club are now reportedly considering another Premiership manager who has outperformed Rolle and could be installed as an upgrade in the Scottish giants’ dugout.

According to Sky Sports, Glasgow Rangers have already drawn up a shortlist of potential replacements for Rohr if he completes a move to Salzburg in the coming days or weeks.

Hearts head coach Derek McInnes is one of the managers being considered for the role if it becomes vacant, and could be reunited with Lawrence Shankland, according to reports.

Of course, Rangers recently signed the Scotland international on a permanent deal from Jam Tarts, who scored 16 goals in the Premiership this season with McInnes.

Further updates from journalist Pranav Shahani suggest that McInnes has emerged as the “early frontrunner” for the vacant seat, ahead of the likes of Steven Gerrard.

How Derek McInnes can become Rangers’ new Steven Gerrard

If the Light Blues can convince McInnes to replace Rolle in the Glasgow dugout, the Scottish tactician could be the next Gerrard to arrive at the club.

Rangers have not won a Premiership title since the English manager led them to an unbeaten league run in 2020/21 before moving to Aston Villa in October 2021.

McInnes’ improvement for Hearts during his time at Tynecastle suggests he has the potential to have a Gerrard-like impact by helping them develop at Ibrox and helping them compete for titles again.

He joined Hearts in the summer of 2025 after finishing in the bottom half of the table with 52 points in the 2024/25 season, leading the team to a second-place finish this season.

They were just one step away from clinching the Premiership title with a draw on the final day of last month, and although Shankland gave them the lead against Celtic, they fell just short.

Given the financial disparity between the two clubs, Hearts and Glasgow, it was an incredible achievement for MacInnes to lead them to second place, as evidenced by his club record contract value of less than £2m.

But the 54-year-old manager has not only been winning praise of late, as former Gers striker Kyle Raffety said in 2023 that he was “rating him next to Walter Smith” after their time together at Kilmarnock.

The fact that he has been compared to the late Walter Smith, who won 10 Premiership titles as a manager, is a high praise and shows how highly regarded he is by his players.

McInnes may have yet to win a premiership in his career, but he has a rich history of impressive results with teams in his division, finishing second on four occasions with Aberdeen and fourth with Kilmarnock, two seasons after winning promotion from the Championship.

The 4-4-2 coach has consistently improved the teams he has managed, just as he did when Gerrard came to Ibrox to win his first title since returning to the top flight, and that is why he could be the club’s next version of Gerrard.