Advocaat close to Rangers return
by Toby Davis, 11 May 2008
Dick Advocaat claims he was on the verge of returning to manage Rangers in 2005 when Alex McLeish left the club.
Advocaat, now boss at UEFA Cup finalists Zenit St Petersburg, was manager at Ibrox between 1998 and 2001.
But the former Holland national team coach claims he held talks with chairman David Murray about returning to the club when McLeish’s reign came to an end.
"There were some rumours about me coming back then and I was not against it," said Advocaat.
"I spoke to David over the phone, but they took another option."
Advocaat replaced current boss Walter Smith in the Ibrox hotseat in 1998, before becoming director of football and eventually taking on the Holland job.
He was replaced at the helm by McLeish, but when he quit to become the Scotland manager, Advocaat was prepared to return to the club as an interim replacement.
"It was only going to be for an interim period. That was nearly four years ago," he added.
"There was a period when there was something wrong at Rangers, when things were not going the right way at the club.
"So many things were happening and I was thinking, why not?
"It was four years, five years since I had been at Ibrox.
"But, happily for me, it didn't work out because then I got the job with South Korea, which was an incredible experience.
"I now regret I quitting as manager in the December.
"But David Murray wanted to step down as chairman at the time, so I thought it might be right for me as well."