Andy Scoulding and the bittersweet Rangers exit as Mark Allen reckons Tottenham are onto a winner

Mark Allen recognises Andy Scoulding as the unheralded star of Rangers going unbeaten through a Premiership title win one year and becoming European finalists the next.

The former Ibrox director of football believes it’s bad news for his former club that Tottenham noticed it too.

Scoulding, appointed by Allen as head of scouting at Gers five years ago, is set for a new job at Spurs under sporting director Fabio Paratici.

The bulletin arrived as no great shock to Allen who watched Scoulding’s recruitment expertise play a massive part in the Rangers rebuild behind the scenes.

During Scoulding’s spell at the helm of the scouting department gems such as Joe Aribo, Glen Kamara and Calvin Bassey were signed for snips.

Now, after influential roles in two unforgettable campaigns, those heroes are worth millions to the club.

Allen reckons Scoulding is destined for the director of football role at a major outfit before too long.

He wanted the former English FA analyst to replace him in that very job at Ibrox before Ross Wilson was coaxed from Southampton to fill the void.

And Allen, who left Rangers in 2019, said: “If I was still at Ibrox, I wouldn’t be wanting to lose Andy – no chance.

“He’s the guy who deserves a lot of credit for what’s happened at Rangers but has never been recognised for it.

“Spurs coming for him doesn’t surprise me at all.

“As well as going out and picking players out and writing reports, he’s a huge talent in strategising and is a great lateral thinker.

“He’s going to be a bit of a loss. Andy has the skills to go on and be very successful.

“Without a doubt, he’s a future director of football somewhere at a big club.”

Scoulding excelled at Fulham in a video analysis post before working on Roy Hodgson’s