Glasgow Rangers had to watch on as their city rivals were crowned champions of the Scottish Premiership for the fourth time in as many seasons.
The Light Blues, who were held to a 2-2 draw by St Mirren last time out, are a whopping 17 points adrift of first place with more matches left to play, which shows that they have not even made it a close race.
Rangers made the decision to part ways with Philippe Clement earlier this year and brought Barry Ferguson in on an interim basis until the end of the season.
The former Scotland international and ex-Rangers midfielder has only won three of his seven Premiership games in charge of the club to date, which does not suggest that he is the right man to take the job on a permanent basis this summer.
The Light Blues need a manager who can bring success back to Ibrox next season. A manager who can bring a league title back to Ibrox next season.
They need to find a head coach of Brendan Rodgers’ calibre. The Northern Irishman had proven himself to be a good manager in the Premier League before his move to Celtic, where he has been incredibly dominant.
Why Brendan Rodgers has been a big success in Scotland
Prior to his first spell at Parkhead, Rodgers earned promotion from the Championship with Swansea in the 2010/11 campaign and finished 11th in his first top-flight season with the Welsh outfit.
That earned him a move to Liverpool in the summer of 2012, and he led the Reds to seventh, second, and sixth-placed finishes in the Premier League in his three full seasons in charge.
Rodgers joined Celtic for the 2016/17 campaign, winning the Premiership title in his two full seasons at the helm, before joining Leicester in early 2019.
The Northern Irishman enjoyed a largely successful time with the Foxes, winning the FA Cup in 2021, before his return to Celtic in the summer of 2023.
22/23
28
19th
21/22
38
8th
20/21
38
5th
19/20
38
5th
18/19
10
9th
Since returning to Parkhead, Rodgers has claimed the Premiership title in the 2023/24 and 2024/25 campaigns, and has the chance to win the domestic treble by beating Aberdeen in the SFA Cup final this season.
This shows that he has been a huge success on the other side of Glasgow, and that may be down to, in part, because he arrived at Celtic off the back of several seasons of impressive performances as a manager in the Premier League.
Kevin Thelwell is set to join Rangers as their new sporting director this summer, after his contract with Everton expires, and he reportedly has a former Premier League manager in mind for the job.
Thelwell tells Rangers who would be a good appointment
According to Football Insider, Thelwell has told the 49ers, who are part of an ongoing takeover at Ibrox, that former Everton and Burnley head coach Sean Dyche would be a fantastic appointment for the club.
The report claims that Ferguson is not expected to be given the job on a permanent basis, after his interim spell comes to an end, and this means that the club will be in the market for a new head coach.
Football Insider reports that Thelwell is a big fan of Dyche, with whom he worked at Goodison Park, and he believes that the English boss has the mentality and character to thrive at Ibrox.
The outlet adds that the sporting director also believes that the manager’s direct, physical, style of play would go down well with the supporters in Glasgow.
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However, Football Insider does not reveal whether or not Dyche, who was relieved of his duties by Everton in January, would be open to a move to Ibrox this summer.
If the 53-year-old tactician is interested in joining the Light Blues, the 49ers could land their own version of Brendan Rodgers by bringing him to the club.
Why Rangers should appoint Sean Dyche
The experienced boss would arrive with similar credentials to the ones that Rodgers first arrived at Celtic with, as he has tasted promotion from the Championship and seasons of midtable finishes in the Premier League.
Dyche has shown that he can get a team to win matches regularly to earn promotion, finishing second and first in the 2013/14 and 2015/16 Championship seasons respectively, but he can also set up a side to be resolute and tough to break down, to avoid relegation from the top-flight.
24/25
19
16th
23/24
37
15th
22/23
18
17th
21/22
30
18th
20/21
38
17th
19/20
38
10th
18/19
38
15th
17/18
38
7th
16/17
38
16th
14/15
38
19th
As you can see in the table above, Dyche has only been relegated from the Premier League in one of his full seasons in the top-flight, although he did leave Burnley on the edge of relegation with eight games left in the 2021/22 campaign.
The former Toffees head coach, therefore, knows how to create a good team spirit and a gritty mentality because he has led so many sides to safety throughout his time in the English top-flight.
His mixture of experience coaching title-chasing teams and sides that wanted to avoid the drop suggests that he could be a great fit for Rangers, because he can use the former experience to compete for the title in the Premiership and the latter experience to produce hard-working, gritty, displays in big European matches.
Therefore, Dyche, who was dubbed “unbelievable” by Kieran Trippier, could follow in Rodgers’ footsteps as a proven Premier League coach who could arrive in Scotland to win major trophies in Glasgow, but this time at Rangers to end Celtic’s dominance in Scottish football.
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It is now down to Thelwell and the club to see if the former Burnley stalwart would be willing to take on the role, and if he is the best option available out of all of their targets.