List of Rangers F.C. managers

Statue of Walter Smith, manager of Rangers in two spells, at Ibrox Stadium

This is a list of Rangers Football Club's managers and all those who have held the position of manager of the first team of Rangers, since its formation in 1872.

Each manager's entry includes his dates of tenure and the club's overall competitive record (in terms of first team matches won, drawn and lost), honours won and significant achievements while under his care. Caretaker or interim managers are included, where known, as well as those who have been in permanent charge. Rangers have had nineteen different permanent managers and ten interim managers.

Managerial history

Match secretaries

Prior to the club forming a corporate entity in June 1899, Rangers had a series of match secretaries who filled the role of what would have been the manager.

Managers

The most successful and longest-serving Rangers manager is Bill Struth, who won nineteen Scottish league championships, ten Scottish Cups, two League Cups, seven war-time league championships, nineteen Glasgow Cups and seventeen Glasgow Merchant Charity Cups from 1920 to 1954.

The club has, on average, appointed a new manager every seven and a half years. The club's directors have only dismissed five of their managers, namely David White, Jock Wallace (during his second spell), Pedro Caixinha, Giovanni Van Bronckhorst and Michael Beale. The others have left of their own accord or by mutual agreement, except for William Wilton, who died whilst still manager of the club.

Statistics

List of match secretaries

1875-1876 John Campbell ^[1]
1876-1883 Peter McNeil ^[1]
1883-1885 John Wallace MacKay ^[1]
1885-1889 James Gossland ^[1]
1889-1899 William Wilton ^[1]

List of managers

Information correct as of matches played 9 February 2025. Only competitive matches are included.

#	Name	From	To	Tenure	P	W	D	L	GF	GA	Win%	Honours
1	William Wilton	27 May 1899	20 May 1920	20 years, 359 days	722	475	118	129	1,724	743	65.78	8 League titles 1 Scottish Cup
2	Bill Struth	20 May 1920	15 June 1954	34 years, 26 days	1,179	788	228	163	2,847	1,144	66.83	18 League titles 10 Scottish Cups 2 League Cups
3	Scot Symon	15 June 1954	1 November 1967	13 years, 139 days	681	445	114	122	1,719	773	65.34	6 League titles 5 Scottish Cups 4 League Cups
4	David White	1 November 1967	27 November 1969	2 years, 26 days	114	73	19	22	264	122	64.03
-	Willie Thornton †	27 November 1969	8 December 1969	11 days	2	2	0	0	5	1	100
5	William Waddell	8 December 1969	7 June 1972 [2]	2 years, 182 days	130	73	25	32	253	134	56.49	1 League Cup 1 Cup Winners' Cup
6	Jock Wallace	7 June 1972 [2]	23 May 1978	5 years, 350 days	308	201	56	51	655	299	65.25	3 League titles 3 Scottish Cups 2 League Cups
7	John Greig	24 May 1978	28 October 1983	5 years, 157 days	288	150	71	67	514	302	52.08	2 Scottish Cups 2 League Cups
-	Tommy McLean †	28 October 1983	10 November 1983	13 days	4	1	0	3	4	6	25.00
-	Jock Wallace	10 November 1983	7 April 1986	2 years, 148 days	124	55	36	33	191	131	43.65	2 League Cups
-	Alex Totten †	7 April 1986 [3]	16 April 1986 [4]	9 days	1	0	0	1	1	2	00.00
-	Walter Smith †	16 April 1986 [4]	1 May 1986 [5]	15 days	2	0	1	1	2	3	00.00
8	Graeme Souness	1 May 1986 [5]	16 April 1991	4 years, 350 days	257	165	49	43	482	175	64.20	3 League titles 4 League Cups
9	Walter Smith	19 April 1991	31 May 1998 [6]	7 years, 42 days	379	248	68	63	793	341	65.52	7 League titles 3 Scottish Cups 3 League Cups
10	Dick Advocaat	1 June 1998	12 December 2001 [7]	3 years, 194 days	195	131	34	30	427	158	67.53	2 League titles 2 Scottish Cups 1 League Cup
11	Alex McLeish	13 December 2001 [8]	8 May 2006 [9]	4 years, 169 days	235	155	44	36	488	196	65.96	2 League titles 2 Scottish Cups 3 League Cups
12	Paul Le Guen	9 May 2006 [10]	4 January 2007 [11]	240 days	31	16	8	7	47	28	51.61
-	Ian Durrant †	4 January 2007 [12]	10 January 2007	6 days	1	0	0	1	2	3	00.00
-	Walter Smith	10 January 2007 [13]	15 May 2011 [14] [6]	4 years, 126 days	245	154	53	38	461	193	62.86	3 League titles 2 Scottish Cups 3 League Cups
13	Ally McCoist	16 May 2011 [14]	21 December 2014 [15]	3 years, 219 days	167	121	22	24	391	123	72.46	1 Fourth-tier league 1 Third-tier league
-	Kenny McDowall †	21 December 2014 [15]	12 March 2015 [16]	81 days	10	3	3	4	9	14	30.00
-	Stuart McCall †	12 March 2015 [16]	15 June 2015 [17]	95 days	17	7	6	4	29	23	41.18
14	Mark Warburton	15 June 2015 [17]	10 February 2017 [18]	1 year, 240 days	82	54	15	13	183	74	65.85	1 Second-tier league 1 Challenge Cup
-	Graeme Murty †	10 February 2017 [18]	12 March 2017 [19]	30 days	6	3	1	2	14	8	50.00
15	Pedro Caixinha	13 March 2017 [19]	26 October 2017 [20]	227 days	26	14	5	7	49	30	53.85
-	Graeme Murty †	26 October 2017 [20]	1 May 2018 [21]	187 days	29	18	2	9	61	38	62.07
-	Jimmy Nicholl †	1 May 2018 [21]	31 May 2018 [22]	30 days	3	1	2	0	7	6	33.33
16	Steven Gerrard	1 June 2018 [22]	11 November 2021 [23]	3 years, 163 days	193	125	42	26	405	135	63.77	1 League title
17	Giovanni van Bronckhorst	18 November 2021 [24]	21 November 2022 [25]	1 year, 3 days	69	42	12	15	132	75	59.26	1 Scottish Cup
18	Michael Beale	28 November 2022 [26]	1 October 2023 [27]	307 days	43	31	4	8	92	44	72.09
-	Steven Davis †	1 October 2023 [27]	15 October 2023 [28]	14 days	2	1	0	1	4	2	50.00
19	Philippe Clement	15 October 2023 [28]		1 year, 117 days	84	54	16	14	179	74	64.28	1 League Cup

† Denotes that the person was a caretaker manager.

References

1. Bob Ferrier; Robert McElroy (2005). Rangers: The Complete Record. Breedon Books. ISBN   1-85983-481-7.
2. "On This Day: Jun 7". Rangers.co.uk. Rangers Football Club. 7 June 2016. Retrieved 7 June 2016.
3. Souness was appointed manager on 8 April but did not officially take charge until 1 May. Totten stood in for one match v Clydebank F.C..
4. Smith was appointed assistant manager on 16 April and took on coaching responsibilities until Souness arrived on 1 May
5. Souness was appointed manager on 8 April but did not officially take charge until 1 May
6. "WALTER SMITH OBE". www.leaguemanagers.com. League Managers Association. Retrieved 14 June 2016.
7. "Frustration for Advocaat". BBC Sport. 12 December 2001. Archived from the original on 23 December 2015. Retrieved 18 August 2012.
8. "Rangers unveil McLeish". BBC Sport. BBC. 11 December 2001. Archived from the original on 27 June 2009. Retrieved 18 August 2012.
9. "Emotional McLeish bids farewell". BBC Sport. BBC. 7 May 2006. Archived from the original on 23 December 2015. Retrieved 18 August 2012.
10. "Rangers name Le Guen as manager". BBC Sport. BBC. 11 March 2006. Archived from the original on 3 April 2011. Retrieved 18 August 2012.
11. "Le Guen and Rangers part company". BBC Sport. BBC. 4 January 2007. Archived from the original on 19 July 2012. Retrieved 18 August 2012.
12. Taylor, Julian (4 January 2007). "Rangers reel as Le Guen departs". BBC Sport. BBC. Archived from the original on 28 April 2014. Retrieved 18 August 2012.
13. "Smith appointed boss of Rangers". BBC Sport. BBC. 10 January 2007. Archived from the original on 23 March 2012. Retrieved 18 August 2012.
14. "McCoist confirmed as Smith's successor". BBC Sport. BBC. 22 February 2011. Archived from the original on 13 July 2012. Retrieved 18 August 2012.
15. McLaughlin, Chris (21 December 2014). "Rangers manager leaves club & on gardening leave". BBC Sport. BBC. Retrieved 23 December 2014.
16. "Stuart McCall to be appointed manager until summer". BBC Sport. BBC. 11 March 2015. Retrieved 12 March 2015.
17. "Warburton Appointed Manager". Rangers.co.uk. Rangers Football Club. 15 June 2015. Archived from the original on 18 June 2015. Retrieved 15 June 2015.
18. "Rangers: Mark Warburton replaced as manager ahead of Scottish Cup tie". BBC Sport. BBC. 10 February 2017. Retrieved 11 February 2017.
19. "Rangers: Pedro Caixinha signs three-year deal with Ibrox club". BBC Sport. BBC. 11 March 2017. Retrieved 11 March 2017.
20. "Rangers: Pedro Caixinha sacked as manager after board meeting". BBC Sport. BBC. 26 October 2017.
21. "Rangers: Graeme Murty sacked as manager". BBC Sport. BBC. 1 May 2018.
22. "Steven Gerrard: Rangers name former Liverpool captain as manager on four-year deal". BBC Sport. BBC. 4 May 2018.
23. "Steven Gerrard: Aston Villa name Rangers boss as new manager". BBC Sport. BBC. 11 November 2021.
24. "Giovanni van Bronckhorst: Rangers appoint former Arsenal, Barcelona & Netherlands player". BBC Sport. BBC. 18 November 2021.
25. "Rangers: Giovanni van Bronckhorst sacked after a year". BBC Sport. BBC. 21 November 2022.
26. "Michael Beale: Rangers appoint former assistant as manager as he leaves QPR". BBC Sport. BBC. 28 November 2022.
27. "Rangers: Michael Beale sacked as manager; Steven Davis takes interim charge". BBC Sport. 1 October 2023. Retrieved 1 October 2023.
28. Dowden, Martin (15 October 2023). "Philippe Clement: Rangers appoint former Monaco head coach as manager". BBC Sport.

External links

• Rangers official website - Former managers