Kevin Muscat given glowing Rangers reference as Craig Moore busts 'easy after Ange' myth with budget bombshell

Craig Moore admits he has skin in the game but gave a glowing endorsement of Kevin Muscat becoming the next Rangers manager.

The Yokohama F Marinos boss is amongst the early favourites to fill Michael Beale’s brogues at Ibrox after he was sacked on Sunday. AZ head coach Pascal Jensen is another contender while former Chelsea and Everton manager Frank Lampard has reportedly said he'd be open to talks with the Glasgow club, but would “need assurances” before saying yes.

But Moore, who played for Rangers and Australia alongside Muscat, believes he has all the qualities the Ibrox board may be looking for in the 19th permanent manager in the club’s history. And he looked to bust some myths that might be circulating about his old pal and the perceived difficulty of the job he’s done in Japan after succeeding Ange Postecoglou and picking up where his fellow Aussie left off.

“It’s a hard one for me because I know Kevin Muscat well,” Moore told Go Radio. “He’s a great mate of mine.

“I’ve been an admirer of his work for a while. He's gone into Japan and done a wonderful job. What people don't understand over here, he got a squad that was Ange’ squad and they think it’s easy.

"They’ve got the ninth biggest budget in the J League - it’s a midtable budget. He won the league and the equivalent of the charity shield. They lost to Vissel Kobe last weekend so they’re sitting second in the table.

“He lost six or seven players over the summer that had to be replaced from within. So he’s punching massively. His teams play entertaining football, score goals and they create. H’s a great option for Rangers as far as I’m concerned.”

Asked whether Muscat was the man to turn things around at Rangers, Moore replied: "What is turning it around?