FELIX Magath, the former Bayern Munich manager who bought a one per cent shareholding in Rangers around three years ago, last night admitted he has been delighted by the Ibrox club’s resurgence this season and has no intention of relinquishing his stake.

The German surprised Scottish football when he invested in the Glasgow club towards the end of 2014 and became involved with a group which was seeking to take control just a few months before the current hierarchy seized power.

The 64-year-old, who won the European Championship with West Germany and European Cup with Hamburg as a player and led both Bayern and Wolfsburg to Bundesliga titles as a manager, was interested in becoming a technical director at the Ladbrokes Premiership outfit at the time.

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Rangers appointed Mark Allen as their director of football in June last year and the former Manchester City academy director has helped to bring in six players during the January transfer window.

Graeme Murty’s side have won both of their games since they returned to action after the winter shutdown this month, against Aberdeen at home last Wednesday night and Ross County away on Sunday, to go second on goal difference in the Premiership table.

Magath, who parted company with Chinese club Shangdong Luneng last year, admitted he monitors their progress, has been pleased to see their revival under Murty during the 2017/18 campaign and is hoping it continues in the months ahead.

“I am very interested in how Rangers are doing,” he said. “I am a stakeholder. I hope that they will do better than they have in the past. At the moment, I think they are doing okay and it has been good to see, but I hope they will improve a little more.”

Magath proxied the 810,000 shares he purchased to the now defunct Rangers Supporters Trust at the EGM which the despised former regime was ousted at back in March 2015.

Club 1872, the group that was formed when the Rangers Supporters Trust merged with Rangers First in May 2016, is now the second largest shareholder in the Ibrox club after buying out Sports Direct tycoon Mike Ashley along with Hong Kong-based businessman Julian Wolhardt last June.

The fan ownership group last week revealed they hope to raise £1 million from their members to invest at a future share issue after Resolution 11 – which allows the Ibrox club to issue shares without the approval of existing investors - was finally passed after several failed attempts at the AGM in November and would like to secure a place on the board.

But Magath, the ex-Werder Bremen, Eintracht Frankfurt, Stuttgart and Schalke 04 head coach who spent a brief spell in charge of English club Fulham back in 2014, revealed he has no intention of parting with his one per cent stake any time soon. “I am very happy with my shares and I intend to stay with my shares for a long time, not just a few years,” he said.

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Magath met with a group of major Rangers shareholders and offered his thoughts on the way ahead for the Ibrox club shortly after he invested and he revealed that he will be returning to Scotland to watch them play in a game later on this year.

“I have had contact with the club in the past,” he said. “It is known that I have bought some shares. I met with other shareholders. We talked about Rangers, about what was going on and what was best for the club.

“I have been in Scotland before. I have not been there for some time, but I will be in Scotland again. In the summer I will go to the Highlands, have a nice time and drink some whisky. I will watch a Rangers game then.”

Meanwhile, Magath, who has been linked with the vacant Scotland managerial position since Michael O’Neill opted to remain with Northern Ireland last week, stated that he will be prepared to talk to the SFA if they approach him.

Magath, who won 46 caps for West Germany, played for his country against Scotland in the World Cup in Mexico in 1986 and his Scottish-based agent Derek Day admitted his client would be interested in succeeding Gordon Strachan.

Day said: "Felix can remember playing against Scotland in the World Cup. Something has gone wrong with the national team, and he would like to help fix that.

"He has fixed issues at all the clubs he has been at and would welcome the chance to now do that at an international level.”

Magath said: “I am back from China and I am enjoying spending time with my family at the moment. But I will think about it if there is interest from Scotland.”