Rangers appoint Stuart McCall as boss until end of season

Glasgow giants Rangers (125/1 to win the Scottish Championship) have appointed of Stuart McCall as their manager until the end of the season.

The former Bradford City and Motherwell boss returns to the club where he enjoyed much success as a player (winning six top-flight titles, three Scottish Cups and two League Cups), but will now be tasked a completely new challenge of promotion.

Gers are currently in the second-tier, and are in third place, behind Edinburgh duo Hearts and Hibernian. They are just five points off the latter with a game in hand, but are highly unlikely to catch up with the former, who are 20 clear at the top.

The best McCall, 50, can hope for now is to finish second, which would mean facing a play-off for promotion back to the top flight against the Premiership side that ends in 11th. Ironically, McCall’s former side, Well, currently sit in that position.

Kenny McDowall was tasked with being caretaker head coach after Ally McCoist stepped down from the position just before Christmas, but he has now left Ibrox, with McCall expected to retain usual assistant Kenny Black.

Leeds-born McCall, who had 40 caps for Scotland (he qualified through his parents), enjoyed his best spell as Motherwell boss, where he spent four years. He guided them to third place and then two second place finishes in consecutive campaigns, getting them to the Champions League qualifiers in 2012/13 for the first time in their history. However, he left them in late 2014 after a poor start to the season.

In 2000/01, meanwhile, he was caretaker player/manager at Bradford in the Premier League, before returning to the club in 2007 for nearly three years in a permanent role.

McCall is still the assistant boss to the Scotland national team, under Gordon Strachan, and it is unsure if he will carry on the position for their next European qualifier against Gibraltar.