After appearing as the early favourite to take over from Mark Warburton, Billy Davies has drifted out of contention in favour of the Alex McLeish bandwagon.
Big Eck is media friendly, wee Billy is media unfriendly, especially with the Daily Record.
Over the course of a week McLeish has become the favourite for the job with plenty of friendly media lobbying on his behalf. The former Scotland boss last managed in the UK in February 2013, Nottingham Forest replaced him with with Davies.
Described as a safe pair of hands and someone to steady the ship seems to be McLeish’s main qualities, the qualities that no UK club has been interested in over the last four years. Admitting that the biggest success of his career was down to a tax scam was an honest admission but not the sort of revelation that directors like to hear.
In contrast to McLeish’s high profile Davies is almost a recluse, both of his last jobs have been with Nottingham Forest where he left a trail of disputes arguments and fall-outs and media bans. His gardening leave runs until June.
On top of that baggage there is one elephant in the room that makes it almost impossible to see the wee man from Pollok ever wear the brown brogues of dignity.
When Paul Murray’s favourite newspaper ran THIS STORY it was one that a newspaper had to be very sure of. Tellingly Davies hasn’t challenged the claims of the Daily Record.
A year ago Davies decided to remind everyone of his availability with a round of media interviews that excluded the Record.
With media relations so important in modern football and a very special relationship between clubs from Ibrox and Scotland’s second biggest selling newspaper there is one massive obstacle between Davies and Ibrox. On past form it’s not one that the former Nottingham Forest boss is likely to compromise on.