CRAIG Moore, the former Rangers captain, last night admitted that he is "extremely flattered" to be linked to the new director of football position at the Ibrox club.
Moore, who spent two spells as a player in Govan in the 1990s and 2000s, is currently football director at Hyundai A-League club Brisbane Roar in his native Australia.
The 41-year-old is believed to be one of the main candidates for the position which is being created by Rangers following the sudden departure of manager Mark Warburton last week.
Sunday Herald Sport understands his lengthy association with the Glasgow club and the vast experience he has gained at Brisbane since he retired as a player seven years ago have made him a strong contender for the role. It is also believed that Moore, whose wife Heather is Scottish, would seriously consider returning to this country if he was offered a role at the club he won 12 major honours at and helped to win the treble in 2003.
Moore, who won 52 caps for Australia and represented his country at the 2006 and 2010 World Cup finals, has also worked as an elite player mentor for Football Federation Australia since hanging up his boots.
While Moore stressed there had been no contact from Rangers officials and emphasised that he was concentrating fully on his work with Roar, he confessed that he would be receptive to any potential approach from the club.
“I am an employee of Brisbane Roar and I am fully committed to the role that I have here as football director,” said the former Ibrox defender, who helped Walter Smith's side complete nine title wins in a row during his first stint at Ibrox. “I have a huge job to do and it requires my complete focus. It is obviously extremely flattering to be linked with a club of the size and standing in the game of Rangers.”
Moore is responsible for overseeing every area of the football department at Roar – including the youth set-up, scouting network and coach and player recruitment.
He has built up extensive contacts in Asia, including in Singapore, China, Indonesia, Malaysia and Japan, since being appointed by Brisbane two years ago.
In addition, he has travelled the world looking to set up strategic alliances with foreign clubs and last year he visited seven Brazilian clubs on a trip to South America as he sought to identify in new signings.
His work in Brisbane on a limited budget has impressed many in Australian football and led to Roar qualifying for the group stages of the Asian Champions League for just the third time in their history this month.
John Aloisi’s team defeated big-spending Shanghai Shenhua – who gave the world's highest-paid player Carlos Tevez his competitive debut – 2-0 in China last week.
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