IAN Cathro today announced he has left his position as assistant manager with La Liga club Valencia - fuelling speculation he may be poised to join Rangers.

The former Dundee United youth coach, who is just 28, was appointed as No.2 to Nuno Espirito Santo at the Spanish giants last year.

He first met former Portuguese footballer Santo on an SFA coaching course at Largs in 2009 and struck up a friendship.

The ex-Forfar Athletic and Brechin City player joined the backroom team at Rio Ave in Portugal when Nuno was made manager there in 2012.

Cathro, who has been credited with bringing through the talented crop of youngsters at Tannadice in the last few years, has been linked with a move to Ibrox as well as Liverpool in recent months.

The Scot has revealed he made his decision to quit Valencia "some time ago" for family reasons and has stressed he will not be returning to the Mestalla.

Despite his tender years, Cathro has been heavily tipped to take over as manager at the SPFL Championship club on a permanent basis.

Cathro, who is believed to have held discussions with senior officials about returning to his homeland, has stated he is looking to pursue opportunities as a manager.

Some bookmakers have cut the odds on him taking over at the Glasgow club to 3-1 after the news he had left Valencia earlier today.

After helping Valencia move to fourth place in La Liga, just five points behind then leaders Real Madrid, at the halfway point in the 2014/15 campaign, he was backed to join Rangers in January.

Ally McCoist had just been put on gardening leave by the old board and Kenny McDowall had just taken over on a temporary basis.

Rangers chairman Dave King has admitted the Ibrox club is looking to appoint a coach who can help develop young talent and Cathro would certainly excel at that.

Speaking earlier this year, the one-time SFA youth coach admitted becoming a manager in his own right and leaving a lasting legacy at a major club would be of huge interest to him.

He said: "You project forward to the types of job you want to do. I want to fill a stadium and make people excited about coming, feeling that as an enjoyable thing to watch and embrace, whilst being able to do something of significance at a club that leaves a structure and a system so that it continues to profit from beyond my period of time.

"That's the types of jobs that are more appealing and more natural to me. You're paid a lot of money, football gives you a lot of good things, and it's the club's position in society that gives you that. It's important that the club gets its value from you.

"In a lot of aspects, I feel entirely ready. The exact moment and when I make that step will be more about the details of the opportunity, the conditions and circumstances that you would be working with."

King revealed this week that Rangers had a five man shortlist of contenders for the manager's job and hoped to unveil their preferred candidate next week.

Stuart McCall, who failed to get Rangers promoted to the top flight via the Premiership play-offs after being appointed as interim manager in March, was interviewed for the job earlier this week.

The Glasgow giants have also spoken to Mark Warburton, the former Brentford coach who parted company with the Griffin Park club at the end of the season just ended after leading them to the English Championship play-offs, about the position.

Some bookies suspended betting on the Englishman, who would take former Rangers captain Davie Weir back to Ibrox if he took on the role, being appointed at the weekend after a flurry of bets on him.

Elsewhere, former Motherwell, Derby County and Nottingham Forest boss Billy Davies, ex-Rangers gaffer Alex McLeish and Derek McInnes of Aberdeen have all been touted for the position.