Graeme Souness told Rangers boss comments were 'bizarre and needless' as Frank Lampard admission called into question

Graeme Souness has been told it was 'bizarre and needless' to publicly admit he preferred Frank Lampard for the Rangers job - especially if he is set to take on a permanent role at Ibrox.

Former Gers boss Souness played a key role in the recruitment process that eventually led to Philippe Clement replacing Michael Beale. CEO James Bisgrove thanked him for offering his expertise and it's been widely reported he will soon take on a permanent consultancy role at his former club, having previously rejected an ambassadorial position.

The final decision wasn't with Souness as Clement beat off all others to land the top job - where he's since guided them to a 4-0 win over Hibs and a 0-0 draw away to Sparta Prague. And Souness, speaking live on talkSPORT last week, said he preferred Lampard who 'had the edge' over the Belgian for him.

But former Partick Thistle and Ayr United boss McCall feels it was an unnecessary comment from someone seemingly close to landing a permanent position at Ibrox. He said on talkSPORT: "With Graeme saying that, I didn't think he'd be taking a position at Rangers and now it seems to be that he may be he is. Bearing that in mind I thought it was a bit of an utterly bizarre and needless thing to say."

Souness had told Jim White and Simon Jordan on their morning radio show: “There were two outstanding candidates; Frank and Philippe. The final say wasn’t with me. For me, Frank had the edge because of this; Frank, I think, has still got a great deal to offer.

"Taking the Chelsea job when he did was always going to be very, very difficult. The Everton job is a basket case. And have they improved since Frank left? Not a bit. So, I wouldn’t be too critical of Frank. The thing that encouraged me about Frank