One of the striking aspects about last week’s announcement of a putative rebuilding of Ibrox Stadium by Rangers was the level of public scepticism towards Sir David Murray, the spinner-supreme of the Scottish game. Evidently, many fans these days take Murray’s public pronouncements on such matters with a pinch of salt.

In this particular case, this may or may not be fair, but the degree of public cynicism towards the Rangers owner is undeniable. It is a scepticism born of an increasing view that Murray for years has had too many principal players among the Scottish football press eating out of his hands.

Murray, I’ve always believed, is a most interesting man. In media circles the general rule of thumb is this: remain sweet about him in print, talk him up and generally support his public profile, and as a gratitude he’ll regularly tickle you with stories and titbits for your newspaper. For years any big “exclusive” stories about Rangers generally had Murray’s hand behind them. The sceptics in my business – the precious few, I might add – refer to it as “Winalot journalism”, likening it to pet dogs being plied with biscuits and pats on the head for good behaviour.

Murray is by no means alone in this exercise but he has had remarkable success at it. The high watermark of “Winalot journalism” during Murray’s time came when, with the financial mismanagement of Rangers having reached near-disastrous proportions with the club’s £80 million-plus debt, those who had to desperately scavenge around for themes for their sports columns somehow always managed to miss the obvious one: castigating Murray over the plight of Rangers. It was a taboo subject, because David might be annoyed.

It is in this context, as growing numbers of Rangers fans are now aware, that the latest grand plans for Ibrox must be considered. These plans may well be kosher but, as always, first there is Murray’s spin to hack your way through. Is this another “moonbeam” of Sir Minty Moonbeam fame? Is this yet another case of “for every fiver Celtic spend, we’ll spend a tenner” as the famous Murray proclamation went? Alas, we all know where that led Rangers.

Yet the thing that troubles me most of all about this potential Ibrox reconstruction is the idea that the stadium needs rebuilding or “modernising” at all. Why? It is a fantastic arena, a credit to Rangers and one marvelled at by many foreign players, fans and sportswriters when they come to Glasgow. Talk of Ibrox needing “modernising” seems senseless, given that the stadium is actually relatively new.

Yes, there is the issue of the arena’s capacity – 50,000 seats is maybe a touch on the modest side compared to Old Trafford, the Emirates or even Celtic Park – but surely this can be fixed without wholesale bulldozing? Certainly, if the virtual dismantling and rebuilding of Ibrox does proceed, it won’t be with Rangers’ money, because the club can’t afford it.

If Chelsea Village is the example Rangers want to follow, with hotels and retail outlets being built around their rebuilt stadium, then be warned. The London club suffered years of financial hassle due to their scheme, a headache that has largely been forgotten only through Roman Abramovich’s arrival. Chelsea, indeed, in their commercial flowering, were seen as having cruelly diminished their identity as a football club.

Football today needs income streams from any conceivable source – that is undeniable. Ibrox, though, is a fine stadium, which is hardly in need of bulldozing... unless someone, somewhere, has an ulterior motive.

Go on, give Mark the job

If you ask me, it is becoming increasingly obvious what should happen to the Scotland job. It should go to Mark McGhee, whom the SFA should appoint on a part-time basis until the summer, allowing him to both finish the season at Motherwell and then take up the reins in time for the first World Cup qualifiers in September.

Forget about his impressive demeanour, McGhee’s managerial credentials are there for all to see. At all his clubs – Reading, Leicester City, Wolves, Millwall, Brighton and now Motherwell – he has performed that mercurial goal of making teams better.

At three of those clubs – Reading, Millwall and Brighton – McGhee won championships, and Leicester went up to the Premiership months after he had been lured away to Wolves, whom he hoisted from 20th to the play-offs in his first full season.

Obviously, McGhee could not hope to win a title with Motherwell, but his ability cannot be doubted.

McGhee has one other quality for the Scotland job – far above Graeme Souness, Billy Davies or George Burley – which is this: given that the international job is now an ambassadorial role as well, you need someone of articulation and substance in charge. Amid the recent tragedy at Motherwell, surely no one now can doubt McGhee’s quality in this regard.

Gordon, listen to me, it’s a shoe-in!

Thanks for your enmity

Notwithstanding my own minor involvement in it, I thought one of the gems of the past literary sporting year in Scotland was the book, It’s Rangers For Me?, a collection of essays by those who either grew up with the club or at some point became a part of “the Rangers family”. The book is a gem because of the sheer range of voices – authors, academics, actors, company CEOs, fans, even the odd sportswriter – all of whom grew up supporting Rangers and who provide various insights on a great but troubled club.

This weekend It’s Rangers For Me? is being celebrated even more in certain circles after its publisher announced that the book has totally sold out, with a reprinted version shortly to be released.

More amusingly, I’m told the publicity for It’s Rangers For Me? appears to have been aided and abetted by an attempted boycott of the book by a website of hardcore Rangers fans, who have become famed for their paranoia, and who objected to the book on account of criticisms of their club within in.

As a book publisher, hardly for a first time, happily pronounced: “Thank goodness some people fail to understand that, for any book, there is no such thing as bad publicity.”

Fair shares for Willie

Was it just me, or is Willie Miller looking more and more like an ageing Inland Revenue inspector these days? Willie, it seems, is weary trying to make Aberdeen’s paltry bawbees add up. Meanwhile, the Dons chairman, Stewart Milne, is now said to have a £600m fortune. Give some of it to Willie, will you, Stewart?

thegame@thetimes.co.uk