Five months in and so far it’s been a rather curious, wildly unpredictable story of ‘Jeezo’ van Bronckhorst.
Lauded for lighting up Europe, lacerated for a lamentable domestic surrender at the same time, it’s been a case of ‘How on earth did he manage that?’, one week and ‘Why on earth did he do that?’, the next. With very little room for middle ground in between.
So it’s probably quite in keeping with all this early yo-yoing that the highs and lows to come over the next four days may very well determine what Rangers have in their grasp with this difficult to read Dutchman.
When the smoke clears after Thursday night's Europa League quarter-final against Braga and Sunday’s Scottish Cup semi against Celtic, Van Bronckhorst’s credentials are likely to have been defined one way or the other.
He’ll either be viewed by his own supporters as an upgrade. Or a hand grenade.
One thing seems sure, all this uncertainty can’t go on indefinitely.
In fact, the only real consistency about Van Bronckhorst’s first few months in charge has been his unerring ability to flat-line whenever a microphone is shoved under his nose, no matter what madness he is being asked to assess.
But even that poses its own questions.
Some see it as the sign of a controlled, calculated man, with ice flowing in his veins when the big calls need to be made.
Others suspect Van Bronckhorst is some sort of emotionless, wet fish – incapable of lighting a fire in the belly of his players in the heat of battle.
Again, these next two games will go some way to clearing up any confusion. The real Van Bronckhorst is about to stand up.
But, typically, he was giving nothing away yesterday when it was put to him that the next four days are almost certain to be season-defining – with all the make-or-break baggage which comes along with such a critical moment.
“I am focusing on tomorrow,” Van Bronckhorst said sternly while quickly going on to acknowledge the historic scale of what his side may be about to achieve if a one-goal first-leg loss can be successfully overturned.
He went on: “Reaching the semi-finals of Europe would be a great achievement if we are capable of doing it.
“We should enjoy it and embrace the challenge we are going to face and do everything possible to be in the semis.”
Deep down, though, Van Bronckhorst will know it’s more than just the current campaign which is going on the line here. Having replaced Steven Gerrard back in November, his own credentials have still to be properly established.
He set off like a house on fire in those opening few weeks just when it seemed Gerrard’s title defence was in danger of becoming a damp squib. Under new management, Rangers won eight of their first nine games, drawing only away to Lyon in Europe.
But, while Van Bronckhorst set a high water mark in those first few weeks, his points per game return in the top flight has been identical to the one Gerrard left behind.
With nine wins, three draws and one defeat from his 13 league games in charge the Englishman jumped a listing ship for Aston Villa with his side sitting top on 30 points. Van Bronckhorst has returned 42 points from the subsequent 20.
All of which means both men have, give or take, averaged 2.3 points per game.
And that offers proof that Van Bronckhorst is not singularly to blame for the enormous momentum swing which has carried Celtic into a six-point lead over his time in charge. Rather, it’s indicative of the monumental transformation masterminded by Ange Postecoglou on the other side of the River Clyde.
Over the same 20-game period, Celtic have won 18, lost none and drawn two. Which means the Aussie is averaging a whopping 2.8 points per game against Van Bronckhorst. That compares to just 2 points per game when he was toe-to-toe with Gerrard over the first 13 matches of the season.
Van Bronckhorst, then, is doing no better nor worse than Gerrard on the domestic scene.
And yet, here is, standing on the brink of leading Rangers to a last four place in a European competition for the first time since Walter Smith took them to Manchester in 2008 – with only Braga standing in his way.
Van Bronckhorst went on: “Physically we are ready for the challenge. Mentally it is a big step for all of us, for the club to reach a semi-finals hasn’t happened a lot in recent years.
“That shows the progress we have made in Europe this season. So we have to be ready, both physically and mentally
“We know they are a very good opponent. We have prepared well for the game. It is a big game which needs a big performance from everyone. But I am confident we can have a good result.
“We know what the task is, we know which areas we can improve, so for us it is just making sure we are playing the way we can, at our top, because you need it at this stage in Europe of course. We will be ready for tomorrow.”
“It is vital for us to go to the semi-finals and we need a top performance as a team, but also individually the players need to be ready. But I think we are both.
“We will see how Braga approach the game tomorrow but we are prepared for every possibility. We have to be ready for whatever they want to throw at us.”
And while Van Bronckhorst will provide the ice, he’ll be hoping for the fire to come from the stands.
He added: “The fans are always important. They will be there starting with the warm-up, they will be with us and pushing us the whole game to get a good result. The atmosphere we have at Ibrox is fantastic, especially in Europe.
“They will be our 12th man and, for sure, they will be supporting us throughout the game.”
The next four days, however, may determine how long Van Bronckhorst can count on having them on his side.
