McLeish is bound for
Ibrox
Deal looks to have been done - STUART
CROWTHER
UNLESS
RANGERS HAVE PULLED AN AMAZING con-trick
on the entire Scottish media, Alex McLeish is set to be revealed at an
Ibrox press conference as the next boss of Rangers, and Hibs.net
understands that this is very likely to be before the clubs meet at
Ibrox on Wednesday evening.
Speculation
that the new Rangers boss was to be McLeish first emerged earlier in the
week, when his name was known to be one of four being sought by Rangers
chief David Murray to work with existing manager Dick Advocaat, who is set
to take on a 'general manager' role with McLeish as first-team
coach. Murray last night revealed to some journalists that top of
his list was indeed Alex McLeish, and Advocaat admitted this evening that
he knew who the next Rangers boss was to be and that an announcement would
be made very soon. There has meanwhile been nothing from either
McLeish or Hibernian, other than a denial yesterday that any formal
approach had been made for the Hibs boss.
I'll be away then? (hibs.net)
However
it is now believed that an agreement has been reached, and rather than
leading Hibs to face Rangers in the SPL on Wednesday, McLeish will be in
the opposing dug-out with Andy Watson looking likely to take charge of
Hibernian in the interim at least. Hibs, it is understood, will
receive around £400,000 compensation under the terms of the 'rolling'
contract McLeish signed a year ago at Easter Road. Should McLeish
indeed move, and in particular with the speed that the deal appears to
have been done, then it will come as a devastating blow to Hibs fans,
already reeling from a poor start to a season that promised so much.
McLeish has proven to be the most popular manager in years in the eyes of
Hibernian supporters, after leading the club from the First Division in a
record-breaking season before leading Hibs to Hampden three times in the
last 18 months, with a further visit to the national stadium due in
February when Hibs face Ayr United in the Semi-Final of the CIS Insurance
Cup.
Friends and colleagues - there appears to have been little Rod Petrie
could do (sns)
McLeish
has been linked with just about every major managerial post in Scotland
and England in his time at Easter Road. He famously stood on the
Easter Road pitch the day Hibs were promoted back to the SPL to tell the
Hibs fans that as long as they wanted him to stick around, he would.
Few fans expected the man rated as the best young manager in the
Scottish game to stay at Easter Road for long however, and even club
chairman Malcolm McPherson admitted on national radio that Hibs could not
expect to keep McLeish if a major club came calling. Now it appears
that the day every Hibs fan dreaded has arrived, but made all the more
difficult to take both by the speed of the move and the fact that the club
are currently facing an on-field crisis of confidence not dissimilar to
the one that led to Hibs finding themselves relegated shortly after the
arrival of McLeish to Easter Road.
Should
McLeish move to Ibrox, speculation is bound to intensify over the future
of Ulrik Laursen at Easter Road. Celtic have already been linked
with an interest in Laursen, whom McLeish rated as being worth £4m.
Hibs fans will watch with interest should a move be made by Rangers for
the player and at what price. That will also of course be very much
a decision of McLeish's successor at Easter Road, with current club
skipper Franck Sauzee the clear fans favourite for the post although the
Hibs board may feel it too great a risk to give the job to someone with no
coaching or managerial experience. That however is a matter that can
be dealt with if and when McLeish departs, the hopes of every Hibs fan
this evening will be that Rangers have indeed pulled the wool over the
eyes of the media.
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