Rangers icon Ally McCoist believes that Frank Lampard should be Rangers’ next permanent manager. The Ibrox side are on the hunt for a permanent successor to Philippe Clement after the Belgian was sacked last month. Barry Ferguson is currently in interim charge until the end of the season and with Rangers close to a takeover from a consortium backed by the San Francisco 49ers and Andrew Cavenagh, it is anticipated they will land a big-name coach in time for next season. Names such as former Rangers boss Steven Gerrard, Russell Martin and Rafa Benitez have been linked with the Ibrox hotseat, but former striker and manager McCoist - now a pundit - wants the new hierarchy to turn to Frank Lampard, who was a candidate before Clement was appointed and currently has Coventry City pushing for the play-off spots in the English Championship. Lampard was also endorsed by another former Rangers boss in Graeme Souness before Clement was appointed. The 46-year-old ex-England midfielder has previously managed Derby, Chelsea and Everton in English football. “Rangers should have gone for Frank Lampard before he went to Coventry,” McCoist said. “I’ve said this for a while and I think he could’ve been like Steven Gerrard in the way that they come to the club with the hunger to succeed, as I always felt that he was overly criticised for some of the results at his previous jobs [at Chelsea and Everton], he looks to have found his feet. “I must admit Barry Ferguson’s appointment surprised me; I thought it was left field. I’m a Rangers supporter and I want the boys to do well, but it surprised me alongside the rest of the supporters – although that doesn’t mean we’re not all behind him. “I wasn’t surprised about Philippe Clement losing the job. I get it, personally I thought that he might have a chance due to their European results, but I can see why you’d get the sack off the back of the Queen’s Park and Motherwell defeats. They’re so far from Celtic in the league and out of the cup, domestically they haven’t been good enough. I wasn’t surprised and I’ll never say I’m pleased to see a manager get fired, but I wasn’t disappointed.” Adding in an interview with talkSPORT BET, McCoist continued: “As far as other candidates go, Steven Gerrard coming back wouldn’t disappoint me, he knows the club well and has a point to prove. There’s talk of Rafa Benitez and [Kilmarnock boss] Derek McInnes – Derek knows the club well and I’d be happy with him, the ship may have sailed for him though. I can guarantee you, that with the new owners coming in, the Rangers job will be heavily sought after and hopefully they can get the right man in to take them forward.” Rangers are back in action on Thursday night when they look to defend a 3-1 lead from the first leg of their last-16 Europa League tie against Turkish side Fenerbahce. Should they finish the job against Jose Mourinho’s men, then they will face either Roma or Athletic Bilbao in the quarter-finals. Rangers currently trail defending champions and bitter rivals Celtic by 16 points in the Premiership with nine games remaining. The duo meet at Parkhead on Sunday afternoon.