Rangers announced on Friday night that they had accepted the resignation of manager Mark Warburton.

The man who had returned the club to the Ladbrokes Premiership left Ibrox along with his backroom staff.

Here, we look at possible contenders to replace the Englishman.

DEREK McINNES

The Aberdeen manager is a former Rangers player and won the Scottish Cup with the club in 1999. He also played in England with West Brom and won two caps for Scotland. As a manager he won the First Division title with St Johnstone and the League Cup with the Dons two seasons ago.

BILLY DAVIES

Like McInnes, Davies is a former Ibrox player and would prove a popular choice with fans. After nearly taking Preston into the Premier League, he did it with Derby in 2007 only to quit before Christmas with the club bottom of the table. He went on to have two spells at manager of the Rams' east-midlands rivals Nottingham Forest.

TOMMY WRIGHT

Made little impression as a goalkeeper with Newcastle, Nottingham Forest, Manchester City and Bolton but has impressed since he was appointed St Johnstone manager in June 2013, winning the Scottish Cup in his first campaign at the helm.

ALEX McLEISH

A European Cup Winners' Cup victor with Aberdeen, where he also won every domestic honour as a player, McLeish needs no introduction to the Rangers fans having managed the team and also the Scotland national side. Between 2001 and 2006 he won two Scottish top-flight titles, two Scottish Cups and three League Cups. He also won the League Cup with Birmingham but quit after they were relegated from the Premier League in the same term.

WALTER SMITH

Smith could be an option in a caretaker capacity until the end of the season, particularly as Rangers sit third in the table - 27 points behind Celtic. Smith has had two spells in charge of the club, the second after managing the national side. The 68-year-old's roll of honour includes 10 Premiership titles, fives Scottish Cups and six League Cups, and he has also managed Everton.