Derek McInnes next Rangers manager endorsement but Kris Boyd fears clubs will pounce first

Derek McInnes should be at the top of the Rangers board's wishlist should Philippe Clement ever leave the club.

That's according to Kris Boyd who reckons the timing may now be better for the Kilmarnock gaffer to return to the club he served as a player after turning them down in 2017. McInnes was this week nominated for the PFA Manager of the Year after taking Killie to fourth in the Premiership in their second season after returning from the second tier.

He's beaten both Celtic and Rangers this campaign as he shows he's still the manager who had Aberdeen so strong and regularly finishing second and third. Former Killie and Gers striker Boyd feels his stance would be different now if offered the Ibrox hotseat and thinks he would be the perfect replacement should the Belgian take another job somewhere.

Speaking in the Scottish Sun, he said: "I’ll throw this out there, could Rangers have another look at McInnes should Philippe Clement move on for any reason in the coming year or so? A former Gers star, he knocked the job back in 2017 when the club didn’t have the stability it does now.

"His stance on an offer will probably have changed, and the Ibrox board will surely have been impressed by his work down at Rugby Park.

"Killie showed ambition in bringing McInnes to the club in early 2022, and he has shown why they were so right to pursue him. But I don’t buy into this view that he has now rebuilt his managerial reputation in Ayrshire.

"How can a guy with his CV and experience as a coach have had anything to prove? All he has done is enhance his reputation — but his success is no surprise to me. When he was appointed, I knew it would work."

Rangers aren't the only ones that should be looking though and Boyd reckons McInnes would be a ready-made replacement for Steve Clarke at Scotland.

Clarke took the same path from Rugby Park after doing a similar job and McInnes hasn't been shy about his international ambitions.

Boyd added: "Steve Clarke was appointed Scotland boss in 2019 after transforming Kilmarnock. Don’t be surprised if Derek McInnes follows him into the Hampden hotseat after his own Rugby Park revolution.

"Now 52, he has made no secret of his ambition to one day manage his country. Clarke has done an unbelievable job, giving the national team its pride back, and guiding us to successive Euros finals.

"Under contract until 2026, my old Killie gaffer has plenty still to achieve in that role and if it was up to me, I’d tie him down for even longer. But the SFA wouldn’t be doing their job properly if they weren’t keeping a careful eye on possible successors.

"McInnes is surely top of that list after guiding Killie to the brink of European football. The worry for the Rugby Park board is that other offers come in for their manager before then."