AZ Alkmaar coach Pascal Jansen claims he has not yet heard from Rangers regarding the possibility of replacing Mick Beale in the Ibrox dugout.
Speaking ahead of AZ’s Europa Conference League group-stage clash with Legia Warsaw on Thursday night, the topic of conversation inevitably turned away from the game and towards the future of the host’s much-admired head coach.
Pascal Jansen, according to The Telegraph, has secured himself a spot on Rangers’ shortlist, alongside the likes of Philippe Clement, Frank Lampard, Kevin Muscat and John Eustace.
Like Muscat, the former Rangers defender who has worked wonders at Yokohama F Marinos after taking over from Ange Postecoglou, Jansen is a modern, forward-thinking tactician who prides himself upon a possession-based gameplan and a commitment to exciting, attacking football.
Rangers linked with AZ Alkmaar coach Pascal Jansen
But, when pressed on those Ibrox links, the London-born 50-year-old insists that the rumours are, for the time being, just that. Rumours.
“I don’t know if there has been contact with AZ,” Jansen tells Voetbal International. “But there has been no contact with me.”
Even if Rangers do make their interest known, it appears that Jansen would be in no rush to leave an AZ side sitting second in the Eredivisie table behind champions Feyenoord, winning six and drawing one of their opening seven league matches.
“I don’t know where (the Rangers rumour) came from,” Jansen adds. “It’s completely out of the question.”
Jansen has a contract until the summer of 2025 at AZ Alkmaar.
According to the Daily Record, fellow candidate Muscat has called off talks over a new deal over in Japan, a man who represented Rangers during the 2002/03 season seemingly tempted by the chance to pick up where he left off and emulate the impact of former sparring partner Postecoglou in Scotland.
Kevin Muscat ‘a great option for Rangers’
“He’s a great mate of mine. I’ve been an admirer of his work for a while. He’s gone into Japan and done a wonderful job,” ex-Gers skipper Criag Moore tells Go Radio.
“He got a squad that was Ange’s squad, and (the critics) think it’s easy. But they’ve got the ninth biggest budget in the J League – it’s a mid-table budget.
“He won the league and the equivalent of the charity shield. He lost six or seven players over the summer that had to be replaced from within. So, he’s punching massively.
“(Muscat’s) teams play entertaining football, score goals and they create,” Moore adds. “He’s a great option for Rangers as far as I’m concerned.”
