Rangers Managerial Search: Norwich boss Alex Neil distances himself from Ibrox job

Rangers-FC
Rangers-FC

Norwich City manager Alex Neil has dismissed speculation linking him to the vacant Rangers job.

It has been more than a fortnight since Mark Warburton and Rangers parted ways, and any replacement for the departed ex-Brentford manager hasn’t been found yet.

Neil, along with several other names, has been among the favourites for the Ibrox job until he distanced himself from a return to managing in Scotland with the Gers.

alex-neil
Alex Neil previously managed Hamilton Academical in Scotland.

Speaking ahead of Norwich’s key English Championship fixture against Sheffield Wednesday, Neil was quoted as saying by the Norwich Evening News: “I have no interest in what happens at Rangers. I am focused on Norwich.

The 35-year-old talked up the baselessness of the rumours and stressed that they don’t bother him.

Whatever happens at Rangers, will happen. The vast majority of rumours that happen in football most of them have no basis to them. It is just somebody has made it up somewhere. This is just another one that someone has made up. I didn’t spend any time thinking about it. I got a lot of texts and a lot of phone calls, which is just normal,” the Glaswegian added.

Neil’s Norwich have struggled this season in their pursuit of bouncing straight back into the Premier League. The Canaries are currently eighth in the table, six points adrift of the playoffs places.

Later today, they face sixth-placed Wednesday at Hillsborough and will bid to close the gap between themselves and the Owls to three points with a win.

However, Norwich have lost nine times on the road this season.

Rangers are under the management of youth coach Graeme Murty since Warburton’s exit. The 42-year-old has had mixed fortunes in his four games in charge thus far, winning twice and losing twice.

The Light Blues are hoping to bring in Southampton‘s Ross Wilson as their director of football before naming Warburton’s replacement. With Neil pulling out, Pedro Caixinha, Gary Rowett, Alex McLeish and Derek McInnes have emerged as the frontrunners for the Ibrox job. The record times Scottish champions have already held talks with the Portuguese, Caixinha.

With next weekend’s Old Firm derby against Celtic looming, the Gers hierarchy is expected to appoint the club’s new manager in the coming days.

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