Rangers chief executive Jim Gillespie has revealed Derek McInnes was hired for his Jurgen Klopp-type style of management.
The new Rangers boss missed out on winning the Premiership title with Hearts last season on the final day when the Jambos lost to Celtic at Parkhead, where the home side made it 14 title wins in 15 seasons.
The ex-Rangers midfielder was chosen as Danny Rohl's replacement after the German coach departed following a third-placed finish but the start of the season has not gone well for the former St Johnstone, Aberdeen and Kilmarnock boss, who has yet to win in three competitive games.
Speaking at a Rangers shareholders' meeting, Gillespie replied to a question about the factors involved in selecting McInnes, and referenced new Germany coach Klopp and former Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola.
He said: "It's very simple. There are two different types of managers -- you get a Klopp-type manager and you get a Guardiola-type manager.
"I think in terms of Rangers' game model and what fans' expectations are we wanted a Klopp-type manager who was on the front foot and played aggressive football and created chances and score goals.
"Derek McInnes is a Klopp-style manager. Underneath that is the structure that he wants to play, the conversations about how successful he has been.
"He is just off the back of a great season at Hearts, and the character the Hearts team showed and some of the characteristics that he has, his Scottish experience -- he has managed over 500 games I think."
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Gillespie revealed McInnes had been spoken about well before the end of the season, while Rohl was still in post, as part of ongoing 'contingency' planning.
"We have always got a list of managers who we believe fit our squad and game model," he said.
"When the managerial appointment came about, there was only one name that ticked all the boxes for us to go and get and it was Derek.
"We have strong beliefs -- I know we have had difficult results -- that Derek will bring success to the club.
"It wasn't just 'get Derek McInnes'. In April, when we were away in Spain, we were talking about managers because you just don't know when, if you're playing really well, someone will come in and take them and if you're doing really badly, you have to make a change.
"So you always have to have the contingency and Derek McInnes was high on the list for a long time.
"You always like to see the whites of people's eyes because that tells you if they have the passion and we had lots of conversations around that.
"Although it took a week, in a sense it could have taken a day. But we wanted to make sure and Derek to be fair had a lot of questions he wanted to have answered as well.
"No one gets a free ride. You don't get a job at Rangers unless you've gone through a thorough process and we believe we have the right person for that role."