THE 49ERS MESSAGE TO RUSSELL MARTIN LEAKED ONLINE AND TRENDING ACROSS SOCIAL MEDIAS AS FANS HAS IMMEDIATELY MADE THEIR MIND UP

RUSSELL MARTIN and Davide Ancelotti are going head-to-head for the Rangers job.

Ancelotti was previously the favourite, but now the bookies have got a new odds-on favourite for the role.

The new owners addressed fans on Friday in an open letter. One section read: “Our first priority together is clear: hiring a new men’s head coach.

“That process is already well underway, and we look forward to sharing more updates soon.”

Former Real Madrid coach Ancelotti has been leading the race for quite some time, but now Martin has overtaken him, according to the experts at Betfair.

It has been a winding path for the Gers in their search for a new gaffer, ex-boss Steven Gerrard looked most likely at one point, but has since ruled himself out of the race.

There was a point where both Ancelotti and Martin looked to be eyeing jobs away from Ibrox too, with the Scot set to take over at Leicester, and Ancelotti looking into the continent for his first managerial gig.

Both names have remained firmly in the running though, and look to be the two remaining serious contenders.

Martin has been out of a job since December, when he was sacked from Premier League basement boys Southampton after 73 matches in charge of club, which included a promotion back to England‘s top flight.

Ancelotti on the other hand is yet to have his first management gig, but has coached under his dad Carlo since 2012, most recently as Los Blancos assistant manager.

The Italian looked set to follow his dad once more as he embarked on the Brazil national team job, but has decided he wants to start a management career of his own.

With Rangers’ takeover finally announced earlier this week, the club look to move fast in securing the signature of their new boss.

It was announced that the US consortium would invest fresh capital of around £20million into the Light Blues.

Rangers’ pre-season starts in the next few weeks, with Champions League qualifiers rapidly approaching too.

The new chiefs will want their man in place sooner, rather than later.