‘That would be perfect’ – Joe Cole tips Chelsea legend to become permanent Rangers manager

Joe Cole has put forward the case for his former Chelsea and England team-mate Ashley Cole to become the permanent manager of Rangers. Philippe Clement was relieved of his duties at Ibrox in the wake of Rangers’ 2-0 defeat at home to St Mirren last weekend.

The 50-year-old Belgian was appointed in October 2023 and had just one Scottish League Cup triumph to show for his largely underwhelming 16-month stay in Glasgow. Saturday’s loss to St Mirren was Rangers’ fifth of the Scottish Premiership campaign and left the club 13 points adrift of arch-rivals Celtic at the top of the table.

On Monday it was announced that Barry Ferguson would take over the reins on an interim basis until the end of the season, with the 47-year-old set to be in the dugout for Rangers’ trip to Kilmarnock on Wednesday night. A statement on Rangers’ official website confirmed that the club’s ‘ongoing football review will continue’ and a ‘new, permanent manager will be appointed in the coming months’.

The likes of Russell Martin, Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, Neil Warnock, Sam Allardyce and David Wagner have all been linked with the job in the days following Clement’s dismissal. But ex-Chelsea and England winger Cole argued on the latest episode of The Dressing Room Podcast that his legendary namesake should be considered for the position in the summer.

‘Where do they go, Rangers? I’m going to throw a name in there. He’s our guy, Ashley Cole,’ he said. ‘I’m going to throw him in. I know he’s got a great job working with the England Under-21s…. ‘Rangers had such a great spell with Stevie G, another ex-England legend, and I can see Coley going into that job.’.

Cole told an anecdote of a recent work trip he enjoyed with Ashley Cole to paint a picture of the iconic left-back’s ‘dedication’ to making it in coaching. He added: ‘I worked with him doing a bit of media in a foreign country. We had the afternoon off and we were sitting on the sunbeds, ordered a couple of drinks, and I’m thinking, “This is a good job, Coley, I’m enjoying myself!”.

‘I’m watching the world go by, 90 degrees, and he just gets his laptop out and he’s showing me throw-ins! [laughs]. ‘The dedication… his dedication to football. We love him. But that would be perfect for him.’. Cole is yet to take on a permanent managerial role since hanging up his boots but has coached in various capacities with Derby County, Everton, Birmingham City and, most recently, England.

‘You can see the dedication he’s put in to becoming a coach,’ ex-Chelsea and England full-back Wayne Bridge chimed in. ‘Someone has got to give him a chance at some point. He was a great player, obviously. He was one of the best. ‘But also, he knows football, he always read the game well and he would be able to help people all over.’.

Ferguson – who captained Rangers over two separate spells during his playing days – faced the media for the first time this afternoon after being appointed as the club’s interim manager. The 47-year-old said that he would be doing everything in his power to turn the team’s fortunes around after a difficult start to the season with Clement at the helm.

But Ferguson was coy on whether he could be keen to stay on as manager beyond the end of the campaign, telling reporters: ‘I’m not even thinking that far in front. ‘The only thing I’m concerned about is Wednesday night at Kilmarnock, if I am being brutally honest with you. I’m here until the end of the season.’.

Asked if the job would be too hard to turn down if the opportunity arose, Ferguson responded: ‘I’ll be honest with you, I’ve not even thought about that. ‘My mindset at this moment in time is getting a result against Kilmarnock tomorrow. It’s one game at a time.

‘There’s a lot of games coming up over the next period. My thoughts are, I’m here until the end of the season and I’m going to give it everything I have got to try and start to get results for this football club.’. For more stories like this, check our sport page.

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