THE GREAT HIRE OF LONDON

Gers chiefs head south to plot manager hunt

- BY ANDY NEWPORT

RANGERS chairman Andrew Cavenagh has summoned club chiefs to a meeting in London as he jets in from the USA to lead the hunt for their next manager.

The American tycoon will join senior Ibrox officials in England's capital tomorrow to plot their next move after the failed Russell Martin experiment ended in his sacking on Sunday.

Steven Gerrard - the club's 2021 title-winning manager - and table-topping Hearts boss Derek McInnes are expected to be among those under consideration, but neither will be easy to recruit.

Cavenagh’s return from his Pennsylvania base comes just a fortnight after he was forced to make a 7,000-mile round-trip to Glasgow to offer Martin support as a 1,500-strong mob gathered outside the Ibrox front door to demand his removal.

That backing ended last weekend as Martin's side failed to win for the sixth time in seven league games this season, with the 39-year-old axed after only 123 days in the job.

The club’s US owners called an emergency board meeting with sporting director Kevin Thelwell and chief executive Patrick Stewart in response to the scenes of anger that erupted outside the Falkirk Stadium after the 1-1 draw three days ago. Martin had to be given a police

escort away from the ground when furious punters gathered around the team bus as his short-lived reign reached its grim conclusion with yet another lacklustre performance.

Now those crisis conference call talks are set to be followed by a face-to-face meeting in which Cavenagh and vice-chairman Paraag Marathe will begin the process of whittling through a list of potential candidates.