Concerned Tam McManus admits Gio van Bronckhorst may not see out the season at Rangers if he can't make up any ground on Celtic - despite the board backing their under pressure boss.
The Ibrox side trail Ange Postecoglou's side by nine points in the Scottish Premiership and face an uphill battle to reclaim the league title after the World Cup break, but Record Sport understands the Rangers powerbrokers are sympathetic to Van Bronckhorst's predicament this season. The club appear unlikely to push the panic button while Qatar 2022 takes centre stage with the Dutchman having a chance to turn the season around when the league campaign resumes against Hibs on December 15.
Despite Van Bronckhorst being given breathing space by the board, former Easter Road striker McManus reckons things could change very quickly for the under pressure gaffer should the slump in form continue. When asked to give an assessment of Van Bronckhorst's time at the club as he marked a year in charge, McManus told The PLZ Football Show: "I think when he came in his stock was incredibly high.
"Getting to the Europa League final was an unbelievable run for Rangers. They beat some top teams, you see how good Leipzig were against Celtic this season.
'Listen, they are only a penalty kick away from winning it. It's amazing the turnaround from then. I think it would have been better for him personally if Rangers didn't get into the Champions League and dropped into the Europa League.
"They would have been more competitive and got more points than the zero in the Champions League. That has damaged him.
"You have got to remember Rangers did get in the Champions League. If they didn't financially they would have been in a soarer position.
"I still think he is under pressure. I still think they need to make inroads into that gap at the top with Celtic or I don't think he will be there until the end of the season."
McManus insists that the work between Van Bronckhorst and sporting director Ross Wilson to add to the squad could be vital. He went on: "Rangers need a really, really good transfer window.
"When he came in (Ross Wilson) his recruitment was spot on with Steven Gerrard. This hasn't been a good window for them, not only with the players leaving but the players coming in have not been good enough.
"At Rangers you can't afford to have two bad windows because your rivals go ahead of you. I think Ross and the scouting network will be looking around the world to bring in better quality than that window there."
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