Rangers set-piece coach Simon Ireland has reportedly left Ibrox, with his departure emerging just 54 days after his appointment in July.
Rangers set-piece coach Simon Ireland has left his role at Ibrox less than two months after joining Derek McInnes’ backroom staff, according to a new report. The Rangers Review has reported that Ireland’s brief spell with the Light Blues has ended.
However, the club has yet to announce his departure at the time of writing. Ireland was appointed on 22 July as Scott Fry’s successor and began work immediately, taking a place on the bench for Rangers’ meeting with Saint-Étienne that evening.
Fry had held the specialist position since November 2025 before leaving for Birmingham City during the summer, forcing McInnes to recruit a second set-piece coach in eight months at Ibrox.
However, the report adds that the Englishman had not featured in the dugout for recent matchday squads, with his absence stretching back into August. Ireland brought considerable coaching experience to Glasgow after spells with Huddersfield Town, Plymouth Argyle, Port Vale, Sheffield Wednesday and Nottingham Forest, where he briefly served as caretaker manager in 2019.
His exit comes amid an attacking set-piece issue that McInnes publicly acknowledged before Sunday’s emphatic 3-0 Premier Sports Cup victory over Celtic at Ibrox. The Rangers manager said his side had 'struggled a wee bit' for reliable takers following James Tavernier’s departure, despite being pleased with their defensive work from dead-ball situations.
Minsu Kim initially assumed delivery duties against Celtic but twice failed to beat the first man from corners. James Penrice later took over and supplied the free-kick from which Manny Fernandez found the net.
That effort was disallowed because Nico Raskin was judged to have interfered from an offside position, denying Rangers a set-piece goal on an otherwise dominant afternoon. The timing makes Ireland’s departure pretty striking, but there is no indication that the Celtic performance triggered it.
His reported absence for several weeks shows the situation was already developing before Sunday. Attention now turns to whether McInnes will seek another specialist. Rangers possess imposing targets, yet the manager has stressed that size and preparation count for little without consistent delivery.
Badredine Bouanani and Penrice were both identified by McInnes as players capable of improving in that area, but neither removes the broader coaching question created by Ireland’s departure.
Likewise, the priority will now shift towards resolving the unmet set-piece potential. However, whether that responsibility falls to a new appointment or the existing staff is now the key decision facing McInnes.
