Scottish Premiership champions Rangers are now on the lookout for a new manager, following the departure of Steven Gerrard to Aston Villa.
The Premier League outfit announced on Thursday morning that the 41-year-old will take the reins at Villa Park, succeeding Dean Smith and ending his three-and-a-half-year association at Ibrox.
Rangers fans were huge admirers of the former Liverpool midfielder, who guided the Gers to an historic invincible top-flight title triumph last season, ending Celtic's nine-year dominance as Scotland's finest.
The Ibrox faithful will now be eager to find out who will be tasked with filling the big shoes left behind by Gerrard, and here, Sports Mole takes a look at five potential candidates for the vacancy.
Giovanni van Bronckhorst
Giovanni van Bronckhorst is the current bookmakers' favourite to succeed Gerrard at Ibrox, and is seeking a return to management after leaving his role in charge of Chinese Super League outfit Guangzhou R&F in December 2020.
The 46-year-old spent three years as a player with the Gers between 1998 and 2001 and enjoyed a successful period in Glasgow, winning two league titles, two Scottish Cups and one League Cup.
Prior to his brief 12-month managerial spell in China, Van Bronckhorst spent three and a half years in charge of boyhood club Feyenoord, who he guided to their first Eredivisie title in 18 years during the 2016-17 campaign. He also helped the Dutch giants win the KNVB Cup and the Johan Cruyff Shield twice each during his reign.
The former Arsenal and Barcelona full-back, who also made 106 international appearances for the Netherlands, is highly-rated within managerial circles and was previously linked with a coaching role under Pep Guardiola at Manchester City.
Frank Lampard
Could Rangers follow a similar trend in appointing a Premier League legend by swooping for Gerrard's former international teammate Frank Lampard? The former Chelsea head coach has not been in the dugout since he was sacked by the Blues in January but is keen to return to management.
Lampard has been linked with several vacancies since his departure from Stamford Bridge, including the job on offer at Norwich City, who are understood to have the 43-year-old on their three-man shortlist to replace Daniel Farke.
The former England international may not be able to boast bags of managerial experience, but neither did Gerrard who had no coaching experience under his belt when he arrived in Glasgow.
Lampard, who spent a year in charge of Championship side Derby County, was known for unearthing young talent during his two spells in management, and that – along with experience gained from his illustrious trophy-laden playing career – could appeal to the Gers this time around.
Derek McInnes
Once again, Derek McInnes has been linked with the managerial vacancy at Rangers and after being out of a job since leaving Aberdeen in March, now could potentially be the moment for him to finally accept the top role at Ibrox.
The 50-year-old is understood to have rejected the chance to take the Rangers hotseat in 2017, and he was heavily linked with the post again a year later before Gerrard's appointment.
McInnes, who made over 50 appearances as a player for the Gers, spent eight years in charge of Aberdeen, overseeing 377 games across all competitions and winning the Scottish League Cup in 2013-14. He built a strong squad who were the nearest challengers to a formidable Celtic outfit between 2014 and 2018, finishing second on four successive occasions during this period.
Some Rangers supporters have doubts as to whether McInnes would be the right man for the job, however former Gers players including Charlie Adam believe he could at least be a 'short-term fix' for the time being.
Russell Martin
Swansea City's Russell Martin is another head coach who is one the favourites with the bookmakers to succeed Gerrard.
The 35-year-old only joined the Welsh outfit in August, ending his 21-month spell in charge of MK Dons, who handed him his first managerial role.
Martin, who made 17 appearances for the Gers on loan during the 2017-18 campaign, has also been linked with the vacancy at former club Norwich, who he made over 300 appearances for across nine years as a player.
The 29-cap Scotland international has adopted a possession-based, attacking philosophy as a head coach, a brand of football which would appeal to the Ibrox faithful should he take the reins.
Gennaro Gattuso
A potential outsider for the Rangers vacancy could be Italian Gennaro Gattuso, who has been out of work since a bizarre two-week spell with Fiorentina over the summer where he resigned after disagreements with the club's hierarchy.
Prior to that, the 43-year-old has had seven different managerial roles across a nine-year period, with the likes of AC Milan and Napoli. His robust yet attacking style of football was one that proved popular with the latter, where he won the Coppa Italia during the 2019-20 season.
Known as a fiery, tough-tacking midfielder during his playing career with Serie A giants AC Milan, Gattuso made 34 appearances for Rangers under Walter Smith in the 1997-98 campaign.
Gattuso, whose wife was born in Glasgow, has an emotional connection with Scotland and so a return to Ibrox for the Italian cannot be ruled out.
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