Benitez on Rangers radar
The San Francisco 49ers-backed consortium poised to take over Rangers is considering Rafael Benitez as the next permanent manager at Ibrox. (Daily Record)Kevin Muscat has also been linked with Rangers but he has reiterated his commitment to Shanghai Port with the club on the brink of exiting the Asian Champions League. (Daily Record)Mystery still surrounds Ryan Kent's departure from Fenerbahce in Istanbul nearly five months after the former Rangers winger had his contract with the Turkish club terminated by mutual consent. (The Herald)Queen's Park boss Callum Davidson plans to use on-loan Rangers defender Leon King as a central midfielder between now and the end of the season. (Scottish Sun)Read the rest of Wednesday's gossip.
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Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Keeping Tavernier as Rangers captain is the right call by Martin, says KRIS BOYD
Kris Boyd has praised Russell Martin for hanging his hat on James Tavernier as his Rangers captain amid growing fan unrest about the Englishman's suitability for the role. The defender's loss of form last season became so pronounced that then manager Philippe Clement took him out of the team at one stage. Set to turn 34 in October and about to start his 11th year at Ibrox, the full-back looked vulnerable when the club began their latest managerial hunt following Barry Ferguson's departure. But Martin — a former Rangers team-mate — last week gave his unequivocal backing to the veteran, stating he was 'hugely important' to the side, with no need to give anyone else the armband. And former Ibrox striker Boyd feels the new man at the helm has done exactly the right thing by ensuring the team has a degree of continuity among the inevitable changes of style and personnel. 'I think because Celtic have been so dominant now for a period of time, because James Tavernier has been the Rangers captain, he's always going to be that scapegoat as such,' he stated. Boyd was speaking as he helped launch the latest wave of McDonald's Fun Football sessions 'If you break down his Rangers' career, in terms of numbers, in terms of goals, in terms of assists, then it's very, very good. 'Ultimately, when you're the captain of Rangers, you're going to be judged on winning trophies. And that's not been at a level where he was expected to be. It's not been a level where Rangers is expected to be. So, you're going to come in for criticism. 'But one thing about Tavernier — and Connor Goldson before him — is that they turn up for their work, they're there every single training session. They're there every single game. They play the games. 'I think in football, and in life, when you go looking for problems, then you're going to find them. They'll come to you anyway. There's no point in going looking for them. 'So, I can totally understand where Russell Martin's coming from. 'You're looking for people who have delivered in games and have done well for a period of time because he's going to need experienced players. There's no getting away from it. You need big characters.' Boyd also hopes that Martin blocks out the noise which constantly surrounds Cyriel Dessers to ensure the striker remains central to his plans. Even in a struggling Rangers team, the Nigeria international was the Premiership's top scorer last season and netted 29 times in all competitions. 'A lot of players at Rangers recently have become better players when they've not been playing,' added Boyd at McDonald's Fun Football initiative at Hampden. 'The ones who have been playing are the ones who've been criticised. But they're the ones who are prepared to put themselves out there, take the flak and try and correct the performance levels of recent times. 'People speak about Dessers, but to score the amout of goals that he scored is impressive. 'You've got others in there like Danilo at £5.5million. He's hardly played. You'd be looking for more. Hamza Igamane's form is up and down. 'But the one who is continuously there, scoring goals week in, week out, and has missed a couple of chances, he's the one that's been criticised. 'The other ones who have not contributed to anything seem to get away with it. 'Would I hang on to him? One hundred per cent. Everybody tells you scoring goals is the hardest thing in the game. You've got somebody there who's doing it on a regular basis. 'Again, I'll say it. There are other ones who are a problem for Rangers. Cyriel Dessers isn't a problem.'
The National
an hour ago
- The National
Why Steve Clarke won't repeat 4-4-2 experiment in World Cup qualifying
Having been a member of a few potent strike partnerships during his own playing days, the former Kilmarnock and Rangers player very much approved when the national team lined up in an old-fashioned 4-4-2 formation against Liechtenstein in the Rheinpark Stadium in Vaduz. Nor was Boyd, who is as well known these days for being a forthright and knowledgeable pundit for Sky Sports as he is for his heroics in the final third during his previous existence, surprised when Che Adams scored a hat-trick and George Hirst netted his first goal for his country during an emphatic and badly-needed 4-0 triumph. However, the man who found the target on seven occasions during his 18 cap international career suspects it will not be an experiment that will, despite its resounding success this week, be repeated once the World Cup qualifying campaign gets underway in September. Even against Group C minnows Belarus. Read more: The Ayrshireman can understand exactly why members of the Tartan Army have grown frustrated at the failure of a Scotland striker - of Adams, Tommy Conway, Lyndon Dykes, Hirst, Lawrence Shankland and James Wilson - to score during the past 12 months. Adams' early opener on Monday evening was the first time in 367 days, in 12 games, in 1,116 minutes, that a player who was leading the line for the national team had found the target. His effort ended a drought which stretched back to the goal which Shankland pitched in with against Finland in the second half of the Euro 2024 warm-up friendly at Hampden on Friday, June 7, last year. But for Boyd, who took part in a McDonald's Fun Football session for local youngsters at Hampden on Monday afternoon before watching the second June friendly at home on television, centre forwards scoring goals has become of far less importance in the modern game. He doesn't think the failures in the Nations League play-off against Greece in March and the June friendly against Iceland last Friday night can be attributed to the Scotland attackers' lack of ruthlessness. (Image: Craig Williamson - SNS Group) 'The issue is that we grew up in an era when there was always two strikers and those two players usually got you the goals,' he said. 'But I think we've been quite fortunate that we have a number of players behind a striker who have been able to deliver for Scotland. 'The role of a striker has changed over the years, there's no getting away from it. But that lone striker role that we deploy quite a bit allows us to get players from the middle of the pitch forward and they have contributed to Scotland in a big way over a period of time. 'To be honest, I think that's just where the world of football is right now. Look at Mo Salah at Liverpool, Ousmane Dembele and Desire Doue at Paris Saint-Germain and Lamine Yamal at Barcelona. They're all big players who score goals for their clubs but they're all wingers. 'If you take the likes of Erling Haaland, Harry Kane and Robert Lewandowski out of the equation, there's not an awful lot of old-fashioned No 9s any more. Football has changed, it's evolved.' Boyd believes that Clarke, who he worked under towards the end of his playing days at Kilmarnock, would be savaged by Scotland supporters if he played two strikers in important fixtures, in the forthcoming World Cup qualifiers, because it would mean that he would have to drop one of his best midfielders. Read more: 'What Steve needs to do is get the best out of the boys that he's got,' he said. 'Sometimes it is best to play with one up front and have the players that we've got behind him get the goals. That is the way it works. 'If Steve was to put in another striker and drop one of our star midfielders, drop John McGinn, Scott McTominay, Lewis Ferguson or Billy Gilmour, he's going to get criticised for that. 'Our strikers have got strengths in their game, there's no doubt about that. But there's not really an out-and-out goal scorer among them. If a team is a jigsaw and you're trying to put it all together, you need to realise where we're really strong and that is behind the striker with our midfielders. 'Throughout the Steve Clarke era, those players, those big players like John McGinn, Ryan Christie, Scott McTominay and Billy Gilmour, have almost always produced when it has mattered most.' Boyd, though, is hopeful that we have, even in this era of false No 9s, shadow strikers and twin No 10s, not seen the end of the 4-4-2 formation. He will not be at all surprised if it is in vogue once again in the not too distant future. (Image: SNS Group / SFA) 'Will it come back?' he said. 'Will we see two strikers up front again? You know, the big guy and the small guy? Do you know what? We just might. 'In football, everybody likes to try to reinvent the wheel. But nine times out of ten the game will revert back to what it was before. I for one hope that is the case. I would like to see Steve get two strikers on the pitch and create opportunities for them to score goals. But I do think we will go back to one up front when World Cup qualifying comes around.' That campaign will come a little too quickly for the boys and girls who took part in the McDonald's Fun Football sessions at Hampden on Monday – but Boyd is hopeful the long-standing initiative will produce a few more players like Che Adams, George Hirst and Lawrence Shankland for Scotland in the years to come. 'Programmes like McDonald's Fun Football are important for communities across Scotland,' he said. 'They give children a safe, positive place to just play the game and have fun. 'McDonald's are offering more free sessions this summer across Scotland and it's brilliant to see. I wish I had this when I was a youngster, I would've loved it. I'd encourage every parent to not miss out and to get their child signed up to their nearest free session.' Kris Boyd was celebrating the latest free wave of McDonald's Fun Football sessions this Summer, available to all children aged 5-11 across the UK. You can sign up now for your nearest free session at
Daily Record
an hour ago
- Daily Record
Vaclav Cerny Rangers transfer hope dashed further as Trabzonspor outline plan to meet Czech's demands
Cerny is in demand this summer following his eye-catching loan spell at Ibrox Rangers' already slim chances of signing loan star Vaclav Cerny have suffered another blow after reports emerged that transfer rivals Trabzonspor are clearing the path to make a move for the Czech star. Turkish outfit Trabzonspor want to land the 27-year-old. but could face competition from league rivals Besiktas and several clubs in Spain. We also revealed how Cerny's next transfer could see him bank a lucrative wage packet of up to €3.5million (£2.9million) a year off the back of his impressive season at Ibrox where he registered 18 goals and nine assists in 52 matches in all competitions. And according to reports in Turkey, Trabzonspor could cash in one one of their other stars to free up more wages for Cerny's potential arrival. Taka Gazete claim that the Trabzon-based side are hoping to sell attacking midfielder Oleksandr Zubkov for around €11million (£9.3million) despite only signing him back in February. Ukraine international Zubkov was purchased for a fee in the region of €6million (£5million) and caught the eye with eight goals and four assists in 20 games for Trabzonspor. But the report states that they will be willing to cash in on the 28-year-old this summer, making a tidy profit in the process. In turn, that cash could then allow manager Fatih Tekke to push the boat out to try and bring Cerny to north-east Turkey. Rangers might miss out on Cerny but sporting director Kevin Thelwell is ramping up the Ibrox transfer drive to give new boss Russell Martin some much needed reinforcements ahead of the new season. Record Sport told last week that talks over potential deals for Leicester City defender Conor Coady and Maccabi Tel Aviv frontman Dor Turgeman are both in the offing. Andrew Cavenagh and 49ers Enterprises vowed to pour £20million into the transfer kitty this summer and a former Manchester United insider is now calling on Gers to use those funds to seal a sensational swoop for Christian Eriksen. The Denmark hero will leave Old Trafford at the end of his contract next month and ex Red Devils transfer chief Mick Brown reckons the 33-year-old might put his lofty expectations aside to make the move north of the border. He told Football Insider: "Rangers have to be clever in the transfer market. "They have to assess where they can get players who will lift the quality in the squad and help to close the gap to Celtic, but won't cost too much money. "From what I hear, they will look to explore the free agent market because there's some quality there. They're considering whether to take a chance on somebody like Christian Eriksen. "He's into his 30s now, he's not going to get box to box, but he can pass and manipulate the ball in ways that their current crop of players can't do. "After leaving Man United, he'll be looking for a new club and Rangers is an interesting opportunity. "He could become an orchestrator in the middle of the park, if they can get runners around him and let him focus on what he can do in possession. "On the other side of it, they have to consider he'll probably be on high wages and might not have the legs any more if that's what they want. But it's move they're looking at and one they might decide is worth the risk and worth the gamble.
