ROBBIE NEILSON has warned Rangers they face ‘friction’ if they appoint a new Head Coach before installing a Director of Football at Ibrox.

Managing Director Stewart Robertson confirmed this week that the Light Blues are considering a revamp of their off-field structure following the departure of Mark Warburton.

Warburton, assistant manager David Weir and Frank McParland left Ibrox last week and Under-20 boss Graeme Murty will remain in charge for the Premiership clash with Dundee on Sunday.

Neilson was Head Coach at Hearts and worked under Craig Levein before the made the move to MK Dons last year.

And the 36-year-old insists Rangers have to get their appointments in the right order if the proposed shake-up is going to produce the required results.

Neilson said: "The most important thing is that the director of football goes in first - then they should look to get the manager in off the back of that. That's the easiest transition, in my opinion.

"The director of football has to be the one who comes in and appoints the manager. If it works the other way about, you can end up with issues about who is in control. It can cause a bit of friction.

"I think it's a great idea for Rangers to go down that route. They are a huge club and this set-up would give them more of a structure to their football operation and make it easier to develop."

Rangers head to Dens Park third in the Premiership standings and the pressure will be on Murty to follow up the win over Morton last weekend with a much-needed league triumph.

The Ibrox board have plenty of options to consider as they look to find the best solution for Rangers in the short and long-term.

Hearts appointed Ian Cathro as Neilson's successor when he left Tynecastle and he isn't surprised to see the Gers looking at a similar structure.

He told Press Association Sport: "The director of football role is going to be taken up by more and more clubs. Hearts were the first club to do it in Scotland and, with the success they've had, I think more will look to implement it. Eventually every club will do it.

"It allows the manager to focus on the first team and things that are really relevant to things on a Saturday.

"The director of football can then have a more long-term strategic plan for how he wants the club to go.

"I don't have a director of football here at MK Dons right now but I do have a chief executive who is very good. However, he is more involved on the business side.

"But it means I'm having to deal with a lot of different things on the football side that I didn't have to deal with at Hearts.

"I've had to order bibs and training kit since coming down here and I've also been re-organising the manager's office at the stadium. That was taken care of at Hearts.

"However, it's been a good education for me as my role is more than it was up the road. I just need to prioritise what is most relevant for the games coming up.

"If we make the Championship, bringing someone in to do the director of football role here is something we would look at."