RANGERS aren't the first club to offer Kenny McDowall the chance to be a manager.
They are, however, the first he hasn't turned down. At least not yet.
Before they appointed Charlie Christie in 2006, Inverness Caledonian Thistle came calling, only for the then Celtic reserve and youth-team coach to decide to stay at Parkhead.
Four years later, after McDowall's controversial cross-city move to work under Walter Smith and Ally McCoist at Rangers, his old club St Mirren were on the phone. They also received little encouragement and ultimately opted for Danny Lennon as Gus MacPherson's replacement.
The difference is that back then McDowall, 51, didn't see himself as a manager. He doesn't say so in as many words, but that may no longer be the case.
"I'm a bit more experienced now," said McDowall, a winner of five reserve league titles with Celtic before being part of the early successes of the Smith and McCoist era at Ibrox. "Before, I used to rule it out ... but I've learned that you can never rule anything out in this game.
"I wouldn't say it was a lack of confidence, but at that time I didn't see myself as a manager. I was working for Celtic and it was a good job. No disrespect to the other Scottish teams that asked me to come to them, but it just wasn't the right time for me and turned out to be a good decision."
Derek Llambias, Rangers' new chief executive, told shareholders at last week's agm that McDowall would remain in charge until the end of the season and possibly beyond. As sudden as his promotion might feel, his education as a manager has been more than two decades in the making.
A member of St Mirren's Scottish Cup-winning team under Alex Smith in 1987, McDowall had a coaching role under Jimmy Bone in Paisley during the mid-1990s before being removed from his post due to cost-cutting.
"Alex Smith and Jimmy Bone were big influences on me," McDowall said. "They pushed me to get my badges and get into coaching. When I retired as a player Jimmy took me on as his assistant. I had four years with him and he was a fantastic coach. There will probably be a lot of Jimmy in me in terms of how I go about my work - his professionalism and how he handled players."
McDowall knew McCoist professionally, rather than personally, when he joined Rangers, but the two men quickly formed a bond under Walter Smith. McDowall acknowledges it is a relief that his friend is out of the firing line. "It's astonishing what he has dealt with, really," McDowall said. "He deserves a bit of time to himself and a bit of family time. He's really keen to get back into football but he deserves a break."
Rangers striker Jon Daly was quick to contact McCoist after the news broke that he was being put on gardening leave. "I gave it 10 or 15 minutes because I knew his phone would probably be quite busy, then I thanked him for everything," the Irishman said. "I'm sure I'll stay in touch with him. He's a great fella, a really good man and someone I'm proud to say I've met and worked under.
"He said he wanted us to push on and it would be a fitting tribute if we could win the league. He's a legend at the club and it would be great for the players to finish what he started."
Daly was at Dundee United when Peter Houston inherited the manager's job, initially on a caretaker basis, from Craig Levein and went on to lift the Scottish Cup.
He said: "At the time I don't think Housty really wanted the job then he had a good run of results. There was a bit of uncertainty but the lads all pulled together. One thing clicked after another then the chairman gave him the job. If we can put a run of results together it then puts Kenny in a strong position to get the job."
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