Glasgow Rangers are still yet to officially confirm their next head coach ahead of their clash with Dundee United in the Scottish Premiership on Saturday at Ibrox.
The Light Blues parted company with Russell Martin prior to the start of the international break, after a 1-1 draw with Falkirk, and Steven Smith will be in charge as an interim this weekend.
Martin left after five wins in 17 matches in charge in all competitions, as shown in the graphic above, and Rangers are closing in on a head coach with a far superior record.
The latest on Kevin Muscat to Rangers
According to RangersReview, Kevin Muscat is set to ‘finalise’ a deal to become the next Rangers manager in a move that could be confirmed over the weekend.
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Meanwhile, the Daily Record reports that the Light Blues board are willing to allow him to see out the remainder of the Chinese Super League season before he makes the switch to Ibrox.
SH Port have three matches left to go in their season, as they sit top of the table, and their last game is on the 22nd November, which means that it could be over a month before Muscat takes the reins in Glasgow to finally replace Martin.
Once the Australian head coach is in charge at Ibrox, one thing that he will be tasked with is getting the best out of central midfielder Mohamed Diomande, who flopped under the previous head coach.
Why Kevin Muscat needs to revive Mohamed Diomande for Rangers
Muscat needs to revive the Ivorian star because he allowed his form to dip way too low under Martin, after an impressive 2024/25 campaign with the Scottish giants.
Diomande’s discipline was a notable cause for concern. He was given three yellow cards and one red card in his last four appearances for the club, and Tam McManus went as far as to call his performance “embarrassing” against Hibernian because of how many fouls he was committing.
The left-footed star was sent off against Genk in the Europa League, a game that the Gers lost, and he was booked against Hibernian, Celtic, and Falkirk, with the Light Blues winning just one of those matches. Embarrassing was a strong word from McManus, but the midfielder did let himself down with too many challenges that caught the referee’s attention.
Appearances
36
6
Sofascore rating
7.19
6.37
Goals
4
0
Assists
7
0
Dribbled past per game
0.5x
0.5x
Ground duel success rate
57%
46%
Aerial duel success rate
48%
17%
As you can see in the table above, his form in his six matches for the former Rangers head coach this season in the league was nowhere near as good as what he produced under Philippe Clement and Barry Ferguson last term.
These statistics show that Diomande is capable of much better than he has shown in the 2025/26 campaign, which provides hope that Muscat can come in and get him back to his best in the middle of the park.
At his best, the 23-year-old whiz, who is valued at £7m by Transfermarkt, is a central midfielder who can provide a combative presence whilst also contributing with goals and assists for Rangers, as evidenced by his form from last season.
However, he has not been anywhere near his best this term, with no goals and one assist in 12 matches, per Sofascore, and that is why one of Muscat’s first jobs should be trying to revive the Ivorian ace.
If the incoming Rangers head coach can unlock the left-footed star’s top level, Muscat will have a terrific player on his hands in the middle of the park.