WES Foderingham, the Rangers goalkeeper, insisted last night that caretaker manager Graeme Murty had the full support of the Ibrox dressing room as the club ponder the identity of the permanent replacement for Pedro Caixinha.

While Derek McInnes, of Aberdeen, remains the front runner for the job, Under-20 coach Murty is a popular figure who has done his chances of landing the position on a longer-term basis no harm with back-to-back wins against Hearts and Partick Thistle in his second spell as caretaker boss.

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Alan Pardew, Gustavo Poyet and Alex McLeish have also been linked with the post, with reports south of the border yesterday suggesting former managers Walter Smith and Ally McCoist were instead being considered for the vacant Sunderland manager’s job, and potential Scotland managerial candidate David Moyes expressing interest in replacing Slaven Bilic at West Ham if, appears increasingly likely, the Croat is relieved of the position in the next few days. The club’s director of football Mark Allen and the board will make further progress on the recruitment process during the international week, but Foderingham was effusive in his praise for the caretaker manager and feels there is no need for anyone to rush to a decision.

“Graeme did a fantastic job the last time he stepped in and he is continuing that now,” said Foderingham. “We have had a few good results and hopefully we can continue that. It is the same players, the same group. The boys are behind him. He has just tried to get us all together, get us passing the football and implementing our ideas.

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“It’s not for me to decide [what happens next]," he added, "But at the minute we are doing well. As footballers we just concentrate on the matches and we are doing well in that regard. We’re without a permanent manager at the minute and we are winning football matches so that’s the only thing I’m concerned about. Graeme is a really likeable character, I think that comes across from his interviews as well. The fans have taken to him, the boys have taken to him, so it makes for a very positive environment. He’s standing in at the minute, and he has the support of the boys in the dressing room but that decision is not mine to make.”