Jon Toral not surprised Gary Rowett is linked with Rangers vacancy
Rangers midfielder Jon Toral admits he is not surprised to see Gary Rowett being linked with the vacant manager's post.
Rangers midfielder Jon Toral admits he is not surprised to see Gary Rowett being linked with the vacant manager's post.
The former Birmingham boss is reportedly on a four-man shortlist of candidates currently vying to become Mark Warburton's replacement.
Arsenal loanee Toral spent last season working with Rowett at St Andrews and he admits he can see why he would interest the Ibrox board.
"It was a great season for me at Birmingham," said the 22-year-old. "Gary is a great manager, I really enjoyed my time with him and I really learned a lot.
"I'm not really surprised (by the links with Rangers). I think he's going to be named for every job that comes around.
"I went on loan there, I got loads of games and I felt like I was an important part of the team. He gave me that confidence to grow as a player.
"When you go out on loan it's always good to have a manager who really believes in you. He really did treat me well and I wish him the best."
Alex McLeish and little-known Portuguese coach Pedro Caixinha are also understood to be on the shortlist, with a decision on the new man likely to be announced next week.
For now caretaker Graeme Murty remains in charge but the Under-20s boss, who insists he has "no set goal in mind" for his future, feels his brief stint in charge will only boost his own career.
He said: "In my calmer moments when I make my decision about where I want to go, this experience - as difficult as it's been at times - will make me a better practitioner wherever I am.
"It will make me a better coach, a better man-manager and better able to appreciate the athletes I work with, whatever age they are.
"I can only be thankful for this time and the developments I'll make."
Murty has not had it easy during his time in the Ibrox hotseat.
Back-to-back defeats to Dundee and Inverness have handed Aberdeen the initiative in the race for second place.
Even when he did pick up his first Ladbrokes Premiership win against St Johnstone on Wednesday, his side left him sweating after blowing a 2-0 goal lead before Emerson Hyndman's stoppage-time winner sealed the points.
Murty hopes that 3-2 victory will galvanise a side whose confidence still looks like it could be shattered by the merest setback.
But he is doing all he can to make his players feel good about themselves.
"I've just done the debrief and I wish you'd seen it because I highlighted some of the great stuff we did," he said.
"I told them I thought they were good - but if we want to be great we need to do these things better.
"That's the kind of mentality I'd prefer. Good is okay but I'd like the fellas to dare to be great.
"You need to be brave to play the kind of football this squad has been created to play. There's no question that having confidence is a major factor in allowing you to do that.
"How do you do that? You show the players what they are great at. I've just shown Barrie McKay some of his clips where he's beating players for fun.
"I also highlighted a clip of him working back 70 yards to put a tackle in.
"Everyone knows he's a fantastic dribbler but showing him the video and saying to him: 'That's what the team needs at that time', is a really good way to show he's adding value to the team."