Former Wolves, Crystal Palace and Rangers star quits manager's job

Kevin Muscat has announced that he is to leave his role as first-team manager of Japanese club Yokohoma F.Marinos at the end of 2023. The 50-year-old's two-and-a-half-year reign saw him win the J1 League and the Japanese Super Cup, however his team lost out on the title this season to Vissel Kobe who have former Chelsea and Manchester United star Juan Mata on their books.

His last act as manager will be to oversee Yokohoma's match with Shandong Taishan in the AFC Champions League next Wednesday (December 13). His side are level with Incheon, and a place in the knock-out stages is on the line.

'Firstly, what is important is that I express my honour in being given the opportunity to manage such a special club,' Muscat said in a statement, which was translated into English on Yokohoma's club's website.

'And at this point, I would like to express that I've made the decision that this Wednesday's match will be my last as part of the Marinos family."

As for what the Premier League hard man will do now remains to be seen. Muscat was said to be 'very interested' in the Rangers job when Michael Beale left, having played for the Scottish Premiership outfit. He lost out to former Belgian defender Philippe Clement, who had a brief spell at Coventry City from 1998 to 1999.

As a player, Muscat arrived in England in 1996 where he joined Crystal Palace from South Melbourne. The Crawley-born defender made 53 appearances for the Eagles before joining Wolves, where he spent five-years, and appeared in 180 games, the most at any club in his career. He later moved on to Rangers in 2002 for a short spell, and then played two-years at Millwall, before returning to Australia with Melbourne Victory and later Sunshine George Cross.