Rangers have found a plaster to put on a broken leg in the shape of Barry Ferguson as Patrick Stewart continues to look for a permanent manager solution.
So far, names have ranged from Derek McInnes throwing his hat into the ring to previous candidates like Kevin Muscat.
Speaking on The Dressing Room Podcast, former England international Joe Cole has his own suggestion for who Stewart should approach to take the club forward and be the new Rangers manager.
Joe Cole names Ashely Cole as Rangers manager contender
One thing that the list of names linked with the Ibrox job suggests, is that there is no specific plan in place just yet.
Cole, however, reckons that he has the answer for Rangers:
“Where do they go, Rangers? I’m going to throw a name in there. He’s our guy, Ashley Cole,” he said.
“I’m going to throw him in. I know he’s got a great job working with the England Under-21s…
“Rangers had such a great spell with Stevie G, another ex-England legend, and I can see Coley going into that job.
“I worked with him doing a bit of media in a foreign country. We had the afternoon off and we were sitting on the sunbeds, ordered a couple of drinks, and I’m thinking, ‘This is a good job, Coley, I’m enjoying myself!’
“I’m watching the world go by, 90 degrees, and he just gets his laptop out and he’s showing me throw-ins! [laughs]
“The dedication… his dedication to football. We love him. But that would be perfect for him.”
What are Ashley Cole’s credentials?
For a start, if he is analysing throw-ins, then he has an advantage on the previous Rangers boss after what was seen against St Mirren – throw, after throw, going back the way and ending up at Jack Butland’s feet.
As a player, there wasn’t much that Cole didn’t achieve at club and international level and was widely regarded as the best left-back of his generation.
Not many defenders kept a peak Cristiano Ronaldo as quiet as Cole did.
Cole started his coaching career at Chelsea where he was part of the academy staff before becoming a member of Lee Carsley’s England Under-21 coaching set-up at the same time in 2021.
He then followed Frank Lampard to Everton in 2022, departing just a year later after his former Chelsea teammate was sacked.
Next, was a stint at Birmingham City as a first team coach after being persuaded to join Wayne Rooney in 2023 before leaving in September 2024.
Since then Cole has worked again with Carlsey after Gareth Southgate resigned and has been taken on by the FA on a full-time basis.
In short, not a great deal of evidence that he has what it takes to be Rangers manager, however, neither was Steven Gerrard’s coaching CV.
