STUART McCall summed up the uncertainty that surrounds his future at Rangers as he chatted to a gaggle of newspaper reporters up at Murray Park last week.

 

"If we go up it doesn't mean I will definitely be here next season," he said. "But, at the same time, if we don't go up it doesn't mean I won't be."

Glad we got that cleared up then. His ambiguous statement highlighted the unsettled state the Ibrox club remains in despite a regime change the majority of supporters welcomed.

Yet, many of them believe change in the dugout will be needed - for the third time, no less, in under six months - if a place in the SPFL Premiership is not secured in the play-off final at the end of this month.

A fair few fans will not, despite the high esteem they hold McCall in as a result of his years of distinguished service as a player, be convinced the present incumbent is the right man for the position even if he does.

Why? Who is better qualified for the vacancy on the money an institution still wrestling with serious financial issues can offer? Who could have done any better in the circumstances he has had to work in?

As job interviews go, the process the former Bradford City and Motherwell manager has been through since being brought in back in March has been more exacting than anything Sir Alan Sugar could have devised on The Apprentice.

It would be harsh if acting chairman Paul Murray was to now lean over the board room table, fix him with a icy glare, point an index finger in his face and say: "You're fired!"

The 50-year-old took over a side performing woefully, completely lacking in confidence and in jeopardy of missing out on a place in the top four altogether with less than a dozen league games remaining.

He inherited players he had not signed and, it is not being presumptuous to assume, did not particularly rate in many cases either.

He has dropped established individuals who were underperforming, promoted promising youngsters to the first team with encouraging results, experimented with different formations, lifted morale, raised standards and achieved some noteworthy wins.

He has not, too, shied away from making difficult decisions as his dropping of club captain and regular centre half Lee McCulloch from the starting line-up against Hearts at Tynecastle on Saturday underlined.

Admittedly, McCall was ultimately unable to secure second place in the second tier table - and so avoid an awkward play-off quarter-final against a Queen of the South side that Rangers have toiled against.

There is no guarantee this group of players will, despite the improvement shown, be able to successfully negotiate six fixtures, home and away, against Queens, Hibs and, in all likelihood, Motherwell in the coming weeks and win promotion.

However, for his future as manager to hinge entirely on Rangers clinching a place in the top flight is nonsense. For all his positive work to be count for nothing if that objective is not attained would be wrong. For him to be discarded so soon would be foolish.

Even before he was drafted in on an interim basis, McCall ticked many boxes. Extensive coaching experience? Check. A decent track record? Check. An affinity with the club and its fans? Check. Knowledge of both Scottish and European football? Check. Availability? Check. Comfortable dealing with the media? Check. An ability to spend money wisely in the transfer market? Check.

That last quality is vital. McCall lost no fewer than 10 first team players after Motherwell had finished third in the SPL behind Celtic and Rangers and qualified for the Champions League for the first time in their history in the 2011/12 campaign. He promptly rebuilt his side and led them to second place.

Once again, there was a raft of departures. Michael Higdon, Chris Humphrey, Henrik Ojamaa, Nicky Law and Darren Randolph, the spine of his team, all moved on. Once again, though, he regrouped and his side finished second.

Whoever takes charge at Rangers will have to a construct a completely new side in a short space of time as 11 players are out of contract in the summer and many will be offloaded. It would be advisable to hand that considerable responsibility to somebody who is adept at it. Botching the undertaking would be absolutely catastrophic.

There are many other potential candidates. Ian Cathro, Billy Davies, Felix Magath, Derek McInnes and Mark Warburton, along with Davie Weir, are the bookmakers' favourites. Each man has his champions among the support. They would all be sexier appointments.

With the exception of McInnes - who will only be prised away from Aberdeen if substantial compensation is paid to the Pittodrie club - every one of those aforementioned names will be a gamble for a variety of different reasons.

With the significant historical issues the Rangers hierarchy is endeavouring to address, handing Stuart McCall a full-time deal, even for one year, makes sense. He would be a safe pair of hands at a difficult time. They will be lucky to get him.