placed on the role of Head of Recruitment Frank McParland. On 10 February 2017, manager Warburton, assistant manager David Weir and McParland left Rangers. Graeme Murty was placed in caretaker control of the first team. Several reasons for the trio's departure were highlighted by the media, as well as the club. The first team's poor performance in the first half of the season a prominent cause, which crystallised after a 4–1 defeat at Hearts on 1 February and a 1–1 draw at home to Ross County three days later, a match which proved to be Warburton's last game in charge. The poor signing policy was mooted; however, the club also stated that the management team were not committed to the job and reported the team had tendered their resignations five days before being replaced, which Warburton later disputed. Early contenders for the role included former Rangers manager Alex McLeish and former Rangers defender Frank de Boer. On 14 February 2017, managing director Stewart Robertson announced that the club would seek to appoint a Director of Football to work alongside a new first-team manager. Graeme Murty's time in charge began with a fourth-round Scottish Cup win over Greenock Morton; however, league formed remained indifferent, for his first two league matches ende in defeats at Dundee and Inverness. This left the side in third place, six points adrift of Aberdeen, at the beginning of March. A dramatic 3–2 win of St Johnstone saw Murty register his only league win in his six-game spell as manager, with his last two games in charge seeing him set up to a Scottish Cup semi-final against Celtic after a 6–0 win over Hamilton Academical, the team's largest win of the season, before drawing the third league Old Firm match. On 11 March, Rangers confirmed Pedro Caixinha as the club's sixteenth manager with the Portuguese coach appointed two days later. The pursuit of a Director of Football was not as successful as the board's first choice, Southampton's Ross Wilson, turned down the offer of the role. Away from football, the board instigated court proceedings against four of its former executives and investor Mike Ashley. The case against former chief executives Charles Green and Derek Llambias, former commercial director Imran Ahmad, former financial director Brian Stockbridge and Ashley was brought regarding a loss of income caused by retail deals agreed between the company that owns the club and