Livingston boss David Martindale has jokingly ruled himself out of the running to take over from Mick Beale at Scottish Premiership giants Rangers.
There are, if you’ll allow us, shades of an Everton-era David Moyes about David Martindale at Livingston.
A much-admired and long-serving manager who has consistently created a side greater than the sum of it’s parts, punching above his weight as the pundits ask what more he has to do to get a big break at club higher up the domestic food chain.
The sacking of Mick Beale at Rangers, however, will not be Martindale’s own ‘Moyes to Manchester United’ moment.
As far as the Glasgow-born 49-year-old is concerned, another high-profile job looks destined to pass him by as Rangers consider a range of alternative, rather more ‘fashionable’ targets.
“I think we can safely say it won’t be me,” Martindale says with a knowing chuckle, via the Daily Record. “It won’t be, let me tell you.”
David Martindale rules himself out of Rangers job
But, if not him, then who?
The Telegraph believe that Frank Lampard, Pascal Jansen and Kevin Muscat are under consideration, while Billy Davies, Kjetil Knutsen, Philippe Clement, John Eustace and Ryan Lowe have all been mentioned too.
Martindale, however, believes Rangers could do worse than to look a little closer to home in pursuit of a manager capable of closing the still-considerable gap between themselves and Old Firm rivals Celtic.
“Derek (McInnes) and Malky (Mackay) are two top, top managers. I think anyone of those two could do a job at a club the size of Rangers or Celtic,” Martindale adds.
Will Rangers go domestic?
McInnes, linked perennially with the Gers job a few years back, defeated Beale’s side on the opening day of the season with Kilmarnock, while Mackay helped save Ross County from the drop in the most dramatic of circumstances.
“I don’t get carried away with these foreign names that are so-called better coaches. There’s an abundance of managers within Scottish football and English football that could do a job,” Martindale adds, Rangers linked with coaches who have made their name in the Netherlands, Norway, Japan and Belgium.
“Sometimes we get it in our heads we have to look elsewhere for some fantastic skillset that someone has marketed well from foreign shores. I just namechecked two there. Derek is one of the best in the league and Malky is a top, top manager.”
