Steven Gerrard’s departure for Aston Villa has left Rangers searching for a new manager halfway through a campaign that has a golden prize at the end of it.
A place in the Champions League group stages all-but awaits this season’s Scottish Premiership champions, so long as the winners of this year’s European competition also qualify through their own league standing.
After disappointing defeats in Champions League qualifying for both Rangers and Celtic in recent years, winning the Scottish title now comes with this financially-boosting bonus.
In pole position sit Rangers, who are four points clear of Celtic after 13 games, but they head into a busy pre-Christmas period – which also features a cup semi-final and must-win Europa League encounters – without a manager after Gerrard signed a two-and-a-half-year deal with Villa.
It has left Rangers somewhat shell-shocked, but the benefit of an international break means a replacement should come in before their next match, with Giovanni van Bronckhorst one name reportedly on the shortlist to take charge.
The former Rangers defender was part of their 1999 treble-winning side. He won the title again a year later, and after leaving he won the Premier League and FA Cup with Arsenal, then two La Ligas and one Champions League with Barcelona.
A 2010 World Cup finalist with the Netherlands, his credentials as a manager centre around his four-year spell at Feyenoord, where he won the Eredivisie in 2017, and after one year in China with Guangzhou R&F, Van Bronckhorst would now be free to take charge of Rangers having been out of work since last December.
“I think every supporter would soon forget about Steven Gerrard to be honest if he’s announced,” Rangers Review writer Derek Clark tells i.
“They need someone that’s familiar with Scottish football. Van Bronckhorst is talking with Ross Wilson on Saturday, he’s on a three-man shortlist apparently and would be a popular choice amongst the fans.
“Van Bronckhorst is idolised at the club, had a successful spell as a player, so classy as well, in arguably one of Rangers’ best sides.
“He’s got that relationship with the fans and has experience with Feyenoord, where he toppled Ajax and PSV’s bigger budgets to win the title.
“His style of play as well, he would play an exciting brand of football. The players would get on board with that, and he would be a huge attraction for players. A Champions League winner, Premier League winner, and played in the World Cup final. He also shadowed Pep Guardiola at Manchester City, so he ticks a lot of boxes.”
This appointment also has the backing of former Rangers striker Ally McCoist, although the Scotland legend insisted the club need not rush given the importance of this year’s title race.
“I don’t have a problem with that at all,” McCoist told Sky Sports News. “He had a good record at Feyenoord, knows the club, he’s young and hungry. That’s one of the names that will arise in the next two or three days.
“I can’t underestimate the importance of the board getting this decision right because this year’s league campaign is vital.
“Financially it’s vital. It’s more important that the right person comes in. Another one that would interest us is Frank Lampard. Very similar to Steven in fact. He’d grab the imagination of the Rangers support, Dean Smith is another one. Closer to home you’ve got Derek McInnes.”
Gerrard timing poor after that interview…
Meanwhile, Gerrard’s decision to swap Rangers for Villa left a “bad taste” among supporters of the Scottish champions, according to McCoist.
Among the footage going viral during the aftermath on Thursday was a fan punching a life-size Gerrard poster, while another featured a piece of memorabilia celebrating their 55th title now sitting atop a bin.
The term “rat” was all too frequent in the replies and quote tweets when Rangers confirmed he was leaving, and the frustration in part stems from an interview with BT Sport in October.
“Do I look happy? Do I look settled? Don’t ask me silly questions then,” Gerrard said, amid reports linking him with the then-vacant Newcastle role.
Fast forward a few weeks and the question does not seem so “silly” after all.
“A lot of supporters have an issue with the timing,” Clark added. “I think everyone was resigned to the fact he’d move on at some stage, to Anfield most likely when that top job came up, but we didn’t think it would leave for another Premier League club who are not in contention for trophies.
“Top 10 would be considered a success for Villa, and you’d think Steven Gerrard would want to win silverware, while he said in press conferences he’s at a club where the demands are such that supporters expect to win every single game.
“It goes against everything and breaking his contract as well. He was tied up until the summer of 2024, which ties in with Jurgen Klopp’s contract at Liverpool, and now he’s signed a two-and-a-half year deal at Villa which ties in with Liverpool too.
“The timing has left a lot of supporters unhappy. They are appreciative of what was achieved last season, but now the Scottish champions are set to automatically qualify for the Champions League group stages, he’s given that up and left a lot of fans scratching their heads.”
from Football – inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/3wI4Bfg
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