WHO’D be a Rangers manager? That may sound like a rhetorical question, but no, seriously. Who’d be a Rangers manager?

The latest embarrassment to strike the Glasgow club may seem like just another in a line of red necks when you consider the backdrop of Charles Green, managers on gardening leave, Mark Warburton’s bewildering pitch geography patter or Pedro Caixinha deciding to cycle to a caravan. Or something like that.

Derek McInnes, surely the prime candidate to take over from the dearly departed Portuguese philosopher from day one, decided on day 43 that it wasn’t for him. Not that it was even offered to him in the first place if you believe Rangers’ statement.

That same statement cited comments made at the club’s AGM that there were indeed no outstanding candidates who weren’t already in positions that had applied for the job.

While there is always a flaw in a plan to look for people who are not currently in employment and looking at those in a job makes sense, one does have to ask what exactly Mark Allen is doing at the moment?

The Rangers director of football wouldn’t be picked out if he walked down Edmiston Drive at 2.50pm this afternoon such is the level of his public profile since coming in during the summer.

His implementation after Caixinha was already in place was a mistake to start with. Surely the person you bring in to run your football department should have a huge say as to the person in charge of the football team is?

On that premise, what has he been doing for the last six weeks during this period of due diligence?

It was clear even when Caixinha was still in charge that his coat was always a game or two away from trembling on a shoogly peg. Surely it would make sense to already have an idea of some sort of a back-up plan if everything went belly up?

Well, it now doesn’t appear like it.

Chris Coleman was sounded out about it but nothing was offered. Now we’ve had an approach to McInnes knocked back by Aberdeen with the Dons manager insisting he wanted to stay in the North East anyway.

Over the last six weeks there has been little evidence to suggest that any managerial nuggets have been unearthed other than the gem in the granite that has been right under the nose of those in charge at Ibrox.

Where Rangers go now is anyone’s guess. If there was a Plan B in place before Caixinha had exited, McInnes could have been the Rangers manager within the week. Now, their dilly-dallying smacks of indecision and it put off the right man for the job. Delaying it further will only send out the wrong message.

Now is the time for conviction at Rangers more than ever. I wrote in this column over a month ago that the board can’t afford to get this managerial appointment wrong. However, their procrastination and lack of movement during this period of due diligence is proving harmful in itself.

The saving grace is that Graeme Murty is in place, and has proven himself to be a safe pair of hands. But there are limits.

With the public pantomime over McInnes being played out in full view, it will become increasingly difficult for Allen and the Rangers board to tempt a manager to leave his own safe post to come to a club with all the direction of a blind Womble.

There has to be a realisation that a marquee manager is probably beyond them, primarily due to budget. Rangers are a big football club in terms of fan base and stature, but could they really afford someone like Tony Pulis?

On the other hand, would the Rangers support accept someone like Tommy Wright? A manager based in Scotland who, like McInnes, has done well but at a lower level and on an even lower budget. With that comes extra kudos, but also fresh concerns at giving someone used to dealing with St Johnstone players in front of 3000 a transfer budget dwarfing anything he’s ever seen to build a team that can cope with pleasing 50,000 every fortnight.

Add to the mix the doubt and uncertainty which has been ramped up over the past few days, it’s looking increasingly more likely someone like Wright could be the person the Rangers board turn to next. That is if Allen can’t find anyone else.

It was a hard enough task to start with trying to get the man who could steady the ship and steer it into safer waters. The leadership and conviction of the last six weeks - or lack of - has just made it 10 times worse.