Former Rangers manager Alex McLeish hopes Northern Ireland legend Steven Davis is not shown the exit door by new boss Philippe Clement.
The Cullybackey man’s future at the Glasgow giants remains uncertain as he continues his recovery from a devastating ACL injury sustained in December 2022.
New Gers chief Clement has met with the Northern Ireland captain as he begins his task of implementing a winning culture at Rangers.
The 49-year-old became the 19th permanent manager of the Govan club following the departure of Michael Beale at the start of the month.
After playing at Genk and Club Brugge, Clement won the Belgian Pro League as a manager with both teams but he inherits a Light Blues side who are currently seven points behind cinch Premiership leaders and defending champions Celtic.
Davis became interim manager, overseeing a disappointing 2-1 Europa League group stage loss to Aris Limassol alongside Alex Rae and Steven Smith.
His brief spell in charge ended with a 3-0 Premiership win over Stephen Robinson’s St Mirren.
As the Belgian assembles his new-look coaching team, former Scotland manager McLeish says Davis’ knowledge and experience should not be discarded.
“Steven’s a player I’ve always admired,” said McLeish, who steered the Gers to Premiership titles in 2003 and 2005.
“During my Birmingham days, Steven played for Fulham and I thought, ‘This guy is unbelievable’ when we played a home game against them. He was always there to receive the ball and make the right pass and I just couldn’t take my eyes off him.
“He was outstanding that day and the knowledge Steven has is something he can definitely take forward into coaching. I’m not sure where he is yet in terms of his badges but he’s certainly got a very good football brain and would be a great addition to the Ibrox coaching staff.
“It’s not absolutely essential (having someone that knows the demands of the club), but I think it definitely helps a bit. Of course, you must have the right credentials but if you’ve got them then it’s even better that it’s somebody that you’ve reared at your own club.
“If you’ve got to go and get somebody else from abroad to make it better then you have to do that, but I believe Steven has got the potential. I know Alex Rae very well and he says Steven is very intelligent, so it remains to be seen if he will be involved in some capacity,” McLeish told GlasgowWorld.
