Rangers may turn to Derek McInnes if Danny Rohl accepts Salzburg challenge
Rangers have reportedly earmarked Hearts boss Derek McInnes as a potential candidate to replace Danny Rohl if the German leaves to take charge of RB Salzburg.
The Austrian Bundesliga club have been in talks with Gers aimed at recruiting Rohl as their new manager after Daniel Beichler was sacked recently following just three months in charge.
It remains to be seen if the former Sheffield Wednesday boss will conclude a move to Austria, but Rangers are already pondering their next move.
Former Rangers midfielder McInnes, who oversaw a stunning first season in charge of Hearts, has emerged as the early favourite to replace Rohl if he departs.
Steven Gerrard and Kevin Muscat, both of whom were in the frame when Rohl replaced Russell Martin last October, are also said to be under consideration.
Rangers chairman Andrew Cavenagh is currently in America and visited Scotland’s World Cup training venue in Boston on Friday ahead of their opening match against Haiti.
But it appears he may have to turn his focus to potentially replacing a manager he publicly backed recently in the wake of a trophyless end to his first season at Ibrox.
Rohl got Rangers back into the William Hill Premiership title race after a slow start to the season under Martin.
But a dire four-game losing streak post-split – coupled with two cup defeats to Martin O‘Neill’s Celtic – has left Rohl needing to prove himself to the Gers support.
Speaking last month, Cavenagh said: “We believe that Danny gives us the best chance to win the league next year.”
The American pinpointed a pre-season under Rohl and a squad revamp that focused on “chemistry and leadership and steel and footballing IQ”.
Gers have already recruited Hearts captain Lawrence Shankland this summer and the Tynecastle club may now have to brace themselves for an approach for the manager who oversaw one of their most exhilarating seasons in living memory as they were pipped to the Premiership title by Celtic in the closing moments of the season.
McInnes, a boyhood Rangers supporter, turned down the opportunity to manage the Ibrox club while in charge of Aberdeen in 2017.
The 54-year-old, loosely linked with the Gers vacancy last October, has been at Hearts for a little more than a year after making the move from Kilmarnock.
The majority of the Rangers squad are due to report for pre-season on June 22, with their Premiership campaign kicking off on the first weekend of August.