Celtic fans will love Rafa Benitez to Rangers claim | OneFootball

Barry Ferguson recently did something that very few Rangers managers have managed over the years. That is to win their first game against Celtic. Merely days before that, he also guided the club to the Europa League last 8 by getting the better of Jose Mourinho's Fenerbahce. But despite that, when the summer comes around, one would expect the Ibrox club to look for a new manager.

Ferguson did not have any top-level experience when he was appointed by the Rangers as their interim boss until the end of the season after Philippe Clement was shown the exit door. And while he has done a decent job, one would imagine that it won't be enough to extend his stay in the Ibrox hot seat beyond the ongoing campaign.

One of the names that has been linked with the Rangers job in recent times is that of Rafa Benitez. He is without a club at the moment and is the type of big-name appointment that the Ibrox fans will be hoping for if their rumoured takeover does go through.

But one of Benitez's former Newcastle United players does not seem to be certain that a move to Rangers would be a success or not. As reported by Glasgow World, Dwight Gayle told Open Goal:

Celtic fans will love Rafa Benitez to Rangers claim

Benitez worked closely with Gayle at Newcastle United. It was during a period where the striker scored 23 goals in 34 games on their route to lifting the English Championship title.

That being said, a decent amount of time has passed since then. Benitez has taken up other jobs and has failed in them.

It would be safe to say that the stint at Everton was a major failure for everybody involved as the Spaniard only lasted 22 games with the Toffees. After that, he had a 33-game run at Celta Vigo and had an even worse win percentage. Before both of these, Benitez also had a short stint at Dalian Professional. Before joining Newcastle United, he had a high-profile flop at Real Madrid as well.

Once upon a time, Benitez was a great manager. But that was almost two decades ago. And if the Rangers end up appointing the Spaniard now, it might not be the grand success that a lot of their fans are expecting.