Throughout a 19-year taking part in profession that yielded 123 bookings and 12 pink playing cards, Muscat was as soon as branded the “most hated man in soccer”.
Put up-retirement, he revealed, exterior former Rangers supervisor Alex McLeish didn’t belief him to play in an Previous Agency derby throughout his transient spell at Ibrox.
It’s to the Australian’s credit score that he has since gone on to considerably shake off his hot-head picture in a formidable 13 years in administration.
His glowing CV attracted Rangers two years in the past, however he reportedly missed out on the job when the membership opted for Philippe Clement as a substitute.
At the moment, former Rangers team-mate Neil McCann informed BBC Scotland that the Ibrox aspect could be getting somebody with “presence” who “understands the league, the depth, the rivalry and the right way to get the job accomplished”.
Muscat was then first-team boss at Yokohama F Marinos, the place he gained 2022 J-League after taking up from Ange Postecoglou following his exit for Celtic.
He additionally succeeded Postecoglou at Melbourne Victory after a interval working beneath the present Nottingham Forest head coach.
It was in Melbourne the place Muscat’s managerial profession started, profitable the A-League Championship twice in five-and-a-half years earlier than his transfer to Japan.
Runners-up spots within the J-League in 2021 and 2023 bookended his 2022 triumph in Yokohama.
Muscat turned a title winner in a 3rd totally different nation final yr in China, and he’s on the verge of one other with simply 4 video games remaining as his aspect sit prime with a two-point lead.
Throughout his managerial tenures in Australia, Japan and China, his win fee stands at 54%, together with his groups scoring a mean of 1.9 targets per recreation whereas conceding 1.2.
His Shanghai Port aspect scored 96 occasions in a 30-game league-winning marketing campaign final yr.
These numbers recommend it is a coach who can win whereas implementing a front-foot strategy. How that interprets to Scottish soccer is unclear, although.
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