He has been an excellent Jambos manager, but because of remarks he made following the club’s demise, he will probably never be given the opportunity to lead Ibrox.
Given his expertise at the highest level, it is not unexpected that 37-year-old Steven Naismith, one of the greatest Scottish players of his generation, is establishing a strong career as a manager.
A kick in the club’s kidneys while we were lying down still stings, though, despite all the advice from people like Walter Smith at Rangers or David Moyes and Roberto Martinez at Everton.
Hearts manager’s inevitable Ibrox murmurs
There has been some discussion about Steven Naismith’s potential qualifications to manage the Rangers in the future. In normal circumstances, this discussion would make a lot of sense because the former striker’s tenacious style embodied the winning mentality of Walter Smith’s three-peat winning team from the turn of the 2010s, and he knows what it takes to win at Rangers. Additionally, Naismith’s successful establishment of Hearts as Scottish football’s third force and his consistent frustration of Old Firm rivals Celtic are also significant assets on his managerial resume. However, Rangers supporters have long memories, and remarks made during a press conference following the club’s collapse in 2012 have damaged Naismith’s Rangers legacy.
Then, manager Ally McCoist made history by stating that there may have been other players having a fly little kick while Rangers were down. Our own was the source of some of the most agonising.
Steven Naismith killed Rangers manager chances in 2012
When the team entered administration and Steven Naismith was speaking, he asserted that “Rangers Football Club no longer exists in its original form.”
With this declaration, Naismith released himself from any potential deal with the newly formed Rangers holding company, who had just been dropped to division three of the SPFL.
With the usage of the “new club” line—which opponents frequently employ as a club to beat the Rangers—both Naismith and his Rangers teammate Steven Whittaker tainted their Ibrox legacies at that precise time.
It stung a little more when two of us picked up the stick and used it to beat us over the head as we were hunched down on the Govan concrete.
You would think that after ten years, some of us would be over it by now. And we probably are, for the most part.
Even though Steven Naismith says he “regrets” the remarks and believes he was given poor counsel, we will still give the Hearts manager credit for keeping Celtic at bay this year.
However, would you recommend him to be the Rangers’ next manager?
Perhaps the forward could have learned from his former captain, Steven Davis, who made sure the team received payment after he moved to Southampton.
That’s the level of class we anticipate from the Rangers boss, and it’s something Naismith may always regret not exhibiting in the past.
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