Graeme Murty: I still haven't decided if I want to be a manager
Rangers caretaker boss Graeme Murty will spend his short-term assignment determining whether or not he is cut out for management.
Rangers caretaker boss Graeme Murty will spend his short-term assignment determining whether or not he is cut out for management.
The club's Under-20s coach was quick to state that Rangers needed a "stellar name'' after he stepped into Mark Warburton's shoes on an interim basis less than two weeks ago.
And he further signalled it was doubtful he would apply for the job as he looked ahead to his third match in charge, against the Ladbrokes Premiership's bottom club Inverness on Friday.
Murty, 42, moved to Ibrox following spells coaching youth teams at Southampton and Norwich and he admits this managerial role might be his first and last.
"The feeling will be and has been that I'm going to take this period to assess whether I am cut out for it or not,'' Murty said.
"I don't mean in terms of tactical or technical knowledge, just in terms of temperament, whether this is an environment I want to operate in or whether I want to be more of a developmental person.
"But I will take my own time in assessing that.''
Murty has certainly thrown himself head first into the job in the meantime. The former Scotland defender's emotions were out in the open on Sunday when he performed a piece of touchline gymnastics as he agonised over a missed chance in Rangers' 2-1 defeat to Dundee.
"I normally transition out of that into a handstand and it normally looks quite smooth,'' he joked.
"I was certain we had just got back to 2-2, and I kind of wanted just to curl up into a ball and hide, and it didn't turn out that way.
"Personally, I am absolutely mortified but professionally I think I have larger concerns than how I looked on the sideline.''
The former Reading player added: "If you ask any football person, this game grips you. It gets you deep in your soul, and the way you express that depends on the person.
"At that moment in time, that's the way it came out. As I grow more experienced and I decide whether I want to do this full-time or not, I'm sure I will have much better control over it.
"Imagine what would have happened if we had scored?''
The club this week stepped up their search for a long-term successor to Warburton by beginning the formal interview process for both the manager's job and the position of director of football.
But Murty has been given no indication of how long he will be in charge amid conflicting reports that he would or would not still be in the dugout by the time Rangers visit Celtic Park on March 12.
"I don't know where the stories have come from,'' he said. "I haven't heard anything. As soon as I hear, I will believe it. Until then, I will just carry on.''
"They have not put any timescale or any pressure on me, the only communication I have had from all members of the board is: 'Keep doing what you are doing, can we help you at all?'.
"So that's been great.
"I'm grateful to be in the role and I will continue to fill this as well as I can in my tenure here.
"If it's tomorrow that it changes, if it's next week, whenever it is, I will just be continuing on and making sure I do the best for the players.
"I said before, it's not about me, it's about making sure the players have what they need.
"I am taking every opportunity to observe them and see what they need, to make sure that my practice goes up to a level where I can be impactful for them.
"It's a great opportunity for me to take my coaching to another level.''