Rangers' McLeish to leave at end of season

Rangers manager Alex McLeish is leaving the Scottish Premier League (SPL) champions at the end of the season after more than four years in charge. "The manager's departure was agreed in early January as Alex believed that a 4-1/2 year term at the club...

Rangers manager Alex McLeish is leaving the Scottish Premier League (SPL) champions at the end of the season after more than four years in charge.

"The manager's departure was agreed in early January as Alex believed that a 4-1/2 year term at the club was an appropriate period upon which to end his tenure," chairman David Murray said yesterday.

Rangers are a massive 18 points adrift of arch-rivals Celtic ahead of Sunday's Old Firm showdown at Ibrox.

Rangers were knocked out of the Scottish Cup by Hibernian last Saturday leaving them with interest in only the Champions League in which they face Villarreal in the last 16. The first leg is at Ibrox on Feb. 22 with the return on March 7.

"It had always been the board's intention to make this announcement after the Villarreal matches. However, in light of recent results directors and senior players, it was agreed that the announcement should be made now," Murray said.

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