*KEEP IN LAST PAR *

In what is one of the most momentous and historic weeks in the history of Rangers, the novel issue of football has trickled so far down the list of priorities it has almost become an irrelevance.

A saga which has dragged the Glasgow institution through the mire - and its support through the wringer - may be within hours of being brought to a conclusion.

Dave King and those backing his Rangers revolution appear now to have manoeuvred themselves into an unshakable position of strength, while some of those they seek to oust slowly skulk away of their own accord before Friday's general meeting potentially opens the door for them.

Their exit and the entrance of a new regime will bring with it a clean slate on which to rebuild the club upon; an opportunity that should have been afforded to the fans and staff of Rangers almost three years ago.

But while fans get themselves built up into a sweaty lather over the prospect of such a dream becoming reality, they need only go back four days to remember that winning the battle of the boardroom is only half the problem in a greater war on two fronts.

While the fight for financial superiority looks to be won, the struggle for footballing success still seems to be troubling the Glasgow club.

The 1-1 draw with Falkirk on Friday night meant Rangers slipped 24 points behind Hearts - who must now resemble a toaty maroon ant rampaging into the sunset - and four further back from second-placed Hibernian.

The most shocking aspect of that result for the Glasgow giants is that it was no shock. Under both Ally McCoist and Kenny McDowall the Ibrox club have lurched between mediocre and mince on a weekly basis since the season began.

It is a problem which Stuart McCall is sure will be addressed prudently and promptly by whoever prevails this week.

The former Rangers midfielder and Motherwell manager has witnessed the decline in form of his old team over recent months and, with himself as one of the names touted to replace Kenny McDowall, the notice-period-serving Rangers caretaker manager, is keen for football focus to be the top priority again at Ibrox.

"They are going to have to try to go up via the play-offs," said McCall. "Whether they have to play four or six games - there are no guarantees the way they are playing at the moment, because Hibs are on a roll.

"At the end of the season I believe there are a dozen contracts up so that would be a good opportunity for someone to go in with a clean sheet.

"Similarly to Motherwell, it goes without saying that there are players who have underachieved massively this year. I don't think there is anyone who has been playing consistently well and deserve to be playing.

"Maybe a new manager might help, the way Dougie Freedman has done at Forest, after Stuart Pearce was struggling. Dougie has gone in, a new voice, new methods.

"If someone does go in, it needs someone to give the players a little belief and focus because at the beginning of the season the objective was to be in the Premiership a year after.

"The bottom line is, if when the fixtures come out next season Rangers are in the Premiership, then it will be job done for whoever has got them there."

McCall is not a man who deals in hypotheticals. Thankfully for us, there are plenty who do.

With much to be decided at boardroom level and McDowall still in place, the man who enjoyed a seven-year spell at Ibrox as a player was reluctant to put himself forward as his successor.

However, it has hard to argue with bookmakers who have the 50-year-old as the favourite.

Putting his Rangers background to one side, McCall's coaching credentials speak for themselves. Even just looking at his last post at Motherwell he managed to take the Fir Park club and their modest budget to a Scottish Cup final, a Champions League qualifier, third place and two second top finishes to name just a few of his achievements in the space of three-and-a-half years.

So, does he fancy being the new Rangers manager?

"It's a hypothetical question," said McCall, who resigned from his post at Fir Park in November last year. "Whoever takes over on Friday, it will be down to them.

"If you ask Ally, even though he had such a difficult reign, he wouldn't have not done the job. I'm sure Kenny, if the circumstances had been different, would have felt the same.

"It's a job that most people with connections to the club, or who have it at heart, would find difficult to turn down - regardless of what troubles they might be in.

"I went to Bradford from Sheffield United. They had just been relegated and people asked why.

"But, and I'm not talking about myself and Rangers here, if it's something you want to do, it wouldn't put anyone off."

If the day would come, McCall is honest about the dilemma that would face him.

Currently involved in the Scotland set-up as Gordon Strachan's assistant, the man who played 40 times for the national team knows that something may have to give when an opportunity to get back into management presents itself.

"I think that would be an impossibility," said McCall of the idea of managing Rangers and being involved with Scotland. "I was lucky at Motherwell, and obviously Peter Houston at Dundee United did it too.

"It certainly did not hinder me at Motherwell. I am 100% about that - I have always said that. It helped me if anything. But I think with a club the size of Rangers I think that would be impossible, and likewise in England as well. I don't think certain clubs would look favourably at that."

He added: "Don't get me wrong, come the summer it will be like: I need to pay the bills. It's what I do. I love working as a coach and a manager. I have given myself until the summer, to see if anything comes up.

"If there was an opportunity somewhere across the world, then my first chat would be with Gordon, naturally. Not only to let him know the situation, but also to take his advice.

"He has given me good advice in the time I have known him. But no, you would not be able to manage a huge club like Rangers and be involved with Scotland as well."

Stuart McCall was speaking ahead of Scotland's international challenge match with Northern Ireland at Hampden on Wednesday, March 25 at 7.45pm. Tickets are available for just £15 for adults and £5 for children. Visit www.scottishfa.co.uk or call 0844 875 1873 for more details.