Given the feelings towards Ross Wilson from the Rangers fans towards the end of his time at Ibrox, perhaps it’s better to remain anonymous when it comes to being involved in the recruitment at the club.
The former sporting director, along with managing director Stewart Robertson, became a target for angry punters who held him responsible for the poor track record of incoming players despite the man who has now left for Nottingham Forest saying "Ross Wilson doesn't sign football players here” at the Rangers AGM last last year.
So maybe Mervyn Day won’t have thanked his boss Michael Beale for mentioning his name as he talked about how he would cope without Wilson. Day was mentioned alongside former Celtic scout John Park and Neil Banfield as a trio of staff members who are helping him. Plenty is known about Park from his time across the city and in particular being associated with unearthing gems such as Virgil van Dijk and Victor Wanyama. And as Beale’s assistant manager who followed him from QPR, Banfield is also fairly well known.
But Day’s name will have had many Rangers fans searching to find out his background as he has barely had a mention and that is despite being at Ibrox for more than three years from Steven Gerrard’s days at the club. So who is Mervyn Day? Here, Record Sport delves into his career to see what he could offer Beale.
What is his background?
Day is a former goalkeeper who started out his career at West Ham United under the legendary Ron Greenwood and progressed through the youth ranks. He made history at the east London outfit when he helped them win the FA Cup in 1975 and at 19 was the youngest goalkeeper to play in the final. John Lyall’s Hammers defeated Fulham 2-0 at Wembley thanks to an Alan Taylor double. He spent six years at Upton Park, also featuring in the European Cup Winners’ Cup final defeat to Anderlecht a year after that FA Cup win. Day then moved to Lleyton Orient before spells at Aston Villa, Leeds United and Carlisle United.
What about his coaching and scouting career?
Where do we start? Day has a wealth of experience which is presumably why Beale is now leaning so heavily on him. The 67-year-old is on the business social media platform LinkedIn and has quite a lengthy CV, to say the least. He had one year in management himself at Carlisle United but was sacked by the controversial businessman Michael Knighton who famously tried to buy Manchester United 30 years ago. But he has barely been out of work since. Day was goalkeeping coach at Everton, first team coach alongside Alan Curbishley at both Charlton Athletic and his old club West Ham while taking on scouting/recruitment roles at The FA, Leeds, Fulham, West Brom and Bristol City, where he worked under Hibs boss Lee Johnson.
When did he join Rangers?
It was first reported in February 2020, during Steven Gerrard’s second season in charge at Rangers, that the club were set to appoint him as a scout covering the London area. But, according to his LinkedIn profile, he has been working for Rangers as a scout since October 2019. He then took on the role of ‘First Team Domestic Scout’ in in January 2020 before being promoted to ‘Lead Domestic Scout’ in September last year.
Anything else interesting about him?
Yes, he attended the same Kings Road Primary School as England and West Ham legend Geoff Hurst. Not a bad claim to fame. But something he'd probably rather not be reminded of is if you ask Stoke City and Leeds United fans of a certain vintage then the name Mervyn Day will probably raise a smile.
It was while with the Elland Road club, where he was signed by Scotland legend Eddie Gray, that he conceded six goals against the Potters in August 1985. He gave an interview the following season vowing not to let in six again and he was right - he let in SEVEN the next year.
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