By Lucy Ashton
Former Chelsea, Everton and Derby County manager Frank Lampard is interested in replacing Michael Beale at Rangers.
Lampard, 45, would be open to talks with the Ibrox club, who parted ways with Beale on Sunday after three defeats in the first seven Scottish Premiership matches of the season.
He was most recently caretaker boss at Chelsea from April to May. However, his second stint at Stamford Bridge did not go well, with just one win from 11 matches.
Having started his managerial career at Derby County in 2018, Lampard, who enjoyed a successful playing career with Chelsea, had a permanent spell in charge of the London club between July 2019 and January 2021.
Capped 106 times for England, his next post came at Everton in January 2022 and he helped steer them away from the threat of relegation. In January of this year he was sacked after a ninth loss in 12 league games.
Meanwhile, the new incumbent of the Ibrox hot seat could find it tougher to get his hands on the money the Ibrox club so badly needs to strengthen its player pool and management team.
The Scottish Professional Football League announced this afternoon that Cinch is ending its sponsorship two years early.
SPFL said the car dealership was exercising its right to conclude its title sponsorship deal at the end of the current 2023/24 season.
The league signed a five-year contract in 2021, but included a clause giving Cinch the option to exit after three years.
The deal played its part in helping the SPFL deliver record-breaking revenues back to its 42 clubs in the last 12 months.
However, it also proved controversial, with the league forced to apologised to Rangers and one of the Ibrox club’s main partners following a dispute over the sponsorship.
“Cinch has been an excellent sponsor for the SPFL and has been clear on the significant boost to its brand awareness from our partnership,” the league’s chief executive Neil Doncaster said.
“We will, of course, ensure that cinch continues to enjoy the many benefits of its sponsorship of the cinch SPFL for the rest of what promises to be a hugely exciting league campaign.
“The passion, drama and excitement of the SPFL has played a leading role in driving cinch’s considerable brand growth in Scotland and across the rest of the UK.
“Working closely with Scottish Football Marketing, we will now begin the process of securing a new title sponsor for next season and beyond, and anticipate strong interest from businesses which recognise the unique value of partnering with Scotland’s premier football competition.”
Rangers objected to the sponsor’s logo being displayed within their stadium or on their strips as they claimed it conflicted with a commercial agreement they already had in place with chairman Douglas Park’s firm, Park’s of Hamilton.
The car retailer began a five-year agreement with the SPFL to sponsor every division from the top flight to the fourth tier in 2021, but a revised version of that deal, which excluded Rangers’ commercial requirements, was signed a year later.
However Rangers and Park – who served as club chairman until April this year – argued that constituted an admission the league was wrong to oppose their position and won the right to take the SPFL to court to pursue damages and an apology.
It means the league is now on the lookout for its third title sponsor since coming into existence in 2013.
Bookmaker Ladbrokes had their name attached to the competition for five years between 2015 and 2020 prior to cinch taking over.