MARK ALLEN insists the next manager of Rangers will have to buy into the philosophy of the club as he targets Premiership glory ‘as soon as possible’.

The Light Blues have started their search for Pedro Caixinha’s successor at Ibrox after his seven month spell in charge was brought to an end on Thursday.

Allen was appointed as Director of Football earlier this year and he will have a key part to play in the process to replace the Portuguese in the coming weeks.

The Welshman has put a new scouting structure in place as Rangers look to lay the foundations to allow them to challenge at the top of the game once again.

And he is confident the next man at the helm can reap the rewards of the work that is being undertaken at all levels of the club.

Allen said: “This is a club-led philosophy and I think that is one of the most important things that the manager is a significant part of this.

“Obviously, the manager will pick the team and the tactics, but overall, we need to have a club-led philosophy and my job is to make sure whoever manages this football club fits into that philosophy.

“As you can imagine, it’s something which has come up very quickly, but the one thing I would say is we need to do our due diligence and we need to be sure this process is given the right time to find the right person.”

The departure of Caixinha came after Rangers were knocked out of the Betfred Cup by Motherwell and dropped two crucial Premiership points against Kilmarnock last week.

The Gers are behind Celtic and Aberdeen in the top flight standings after a poor start to the campaign as Caixinha’s side failed to the ground running after a summer overhaul.

And Allen knows Rangers must start striding forward sooner rather than later as everyone in Light Blue looks to bring success back to Ibrox.

He told RangersTV: “We need to become more competitive as soon as possible and we need to win the Scottish Premiership as soon as possible.

“I think for me, alongside those two things, we need to build a legacy at the football club which says there is continuity and I alluded to the fact last time that a robust structure gives you success moving forward and a really strong platform on which to build.

“That is what this department will give – it will provide a legacy where there will be information, there will be database and there will be a lot of information available to anyone who is picking that up within Rangers Football Club to work from moving forward.”