Former Hearts manager Robbie Neilson has been appointed at Tampa Bay Rowdies after reportedly being interviewed by Philippe Clement and Rangers.
The Scottish manager, 43, has just been announced as the new manager of USL side Tampa Bay Rowdies as he looks to restart his career in the States.
But if things had been different perhaps Robbie Neilson would actually be involved at Rangers with the club said to have spoken to the former MK Dons about a potential gig in Glasgow.
According to ESPN journalist Mark Donaldson, Rangers spoke with Robbie Neilson about becoming Philippe Clement’s number two at Ibrox.
This comes after Neilson was sacked as manager of Hearts – before being replaced by the controversial Steven Naismith – back in April this year.
Rangers and Philippe Clement ‘interviewed Robbie Neilson’
According to Donaldson, Robbie Neilson spoke to Rangers about the number two job before Philippe Clement opted to move for former Belgian international teammate Stephen van der Heyden.
“New Tampa Bay Rowdies boss Robbie Neilson chose to move to Florida despite holding talks with Philippe Clement last month about becoming the Belgian’s assistant manager at Rangers,” tweets Donaldson.
“Neilson will start his new job in January. Stephan Van Der Heyden subsequently became No.2 at Ibrox.”
The report comes after earlier suggestions that Rangers manager Philippe Clement is set to add a Scottish or UK based coach to his backroom staff.
As things stand, Van Der Heyden is the only staffer Clement has added to the background of Rangers since joining and the manager has made it clear he’s still assessing the goings on in Glasgow.
Hinting that former Ibrox midfielder Alex Rae has impressed him at the club, Rangers and Philippe Clement remain open to bolstering the club’s options on and off the park.
This includes in the boardroom, with Rangers set to step up one crucial appointment in the coming weeks.
