Every so often, Rangers supporters end up back in the same discussion: should the manager be suited and booted on the touchline, or is modern training gear just the way of it now? And I get why it matters to some folk. Rangers is a club built on tradition, on doing things properly, on carrying yourself a certain way.

The suit doesn’t win the game

But the truth is, a blazer doesn’t organise a defence and a tie doesn’t fix a soft goal. We’ve seen plenty managers dressed smartly who didn’t deliver what we needed, and plenty who’ve been more casual and still set a serious tone. Clothing is a surface thing. What really matters is whether the manager sets demands that players actually meet.

Standards are visible in other ways: how quickly the team moves the ball, how hard we work without it, whether there’s a proper edge in duels, and if the group looks like it knows its job. When Rangers are good, you can feel it in the tempo and the discipline. When we’re not, no amount of polished shoes is hiding that.

“Tradition” is often just the fashion of the time

There’s also a bit of confusion between tradition and what was simply normal back then. Managers used to wear suits because that was what managers wore. If you look across the game, it’s shifted in cycles. Some coaches still go classic, some go tracksuit, and most drift between the two depending on the occasion.

It’s the same at big clubs down south. People point to teams like Manchester City and Liverpool in the context of “proper” touchline attire, but their success or struggles were never down to what the manager had on. Those clubs moved through different eras, different styles, different managers, and the team’s level was driven by coaching quality, recruitment, and the standards inside the building.

What Rangers should judge is simple

If our manager wants to wear a suit, fine. It can look sharp, and it can suit the occasion. But if he turns up in training gear, that shouldn’t be treated like a lack of respect either. Rangers supporters aren’t daft; we know the real markers.

Can he improve players? Does he set a clear shape? Are we organised in transitions? Do we look fitter and more switched on from week to week? That’s the bar. Not whether the gaffer’s jacket matches the club tie.

For me, the clothing debate is only ever a sideshow. Give us a Rangers team with proper standards, consistency, and leadership, and nobody will care what the manager’s wearing.

Written by Angus1812: 5 January 2026

Tags: tactics