In an alternative universe it would be Kevin Muscat at the helm of Rangers rather than Philippe Clement.
But the Australian has now lifted the lid on his non negotiable principles that he has dished out to potential suitors as he faced questions over his discussions with the Premiership side before the appointment of the Belgian. He was in the mix to land on the Ibrox hot seat last year after Michael Beale was shown the door and held talks with the Scottish giants after winning the J-League in 2022 and finishing second in 2023 Yokohama F. Marinos.
However, the club opted to go for Clement – with Muscat’s name resurfacing with the boss facing pressure with Rangers trailing both Aberdeen and Celtic in the race for the title. But amid the speculation he led Shanghai Port to the Chinese Super League crown – a third title in a different country – Muscat appears to be in no rush to leave his current side.
Speaking to aleagues.com.au was quizzed over conversations with Rangers before making the move to China. And Muscat revealed that questions over his philosophy abruptly ended talks with an unnamed suitor.
The former Light Blues’ midfielder said: “I was really happy because I had one or two private discussions with different parties towards the end of last season and in discussions, people actually from clubs said that ‘Well, that really can’t work here and how do you know that can work here, your methods?’
“When I finished those conversations, I was like you know what? Maybe this is not for me, because they’ve not followed me enough to to actually stick their neck out.
“Whereas here, the sports director Mr (Xiang) Sun, he’s one of the first two Chinese players to play in Europe. It was the complete opposite. I want you come out here and do what you’ve done in Shanghai. I want you to build it your way.”