Barry Ferguson has called on the Rangers board to give Giovanni van Bronckhorst some proper backing in the January transfer window if they decide to stick by the Dutchman.
The Light Blues gaffer has come under increased fan pressure following a string of poor performances and results this campaign. The Champions League bid ended in disaster with the Ibrox men picking up the unwanted tag as the 'worst ever' group stage team following a -20 goal difference in a section with Liverpool, Napoli and Ajax.
Domestically, things have not been much better of late with dropped home points against Livingston and a defeat at St Johnstone - that sparked a furious reaction from the travelling support who confronted skipper James Tavernier after the game to get an answer to what has been going on of late. Van Bronckhorst revealed in his press conference a couple of days back - despite trailing Celtic by seven points in the title race - that he not spoken to any member of the board in the wake of the Perth defeat, and in Fergie's mind that means he is staying put.
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With the board sticking by Gio, he has called on Ross Wilson and the like to give him the best possible chance of turning things around this season by getting the cheque book out during the winter window and bring in reinforcements.
Writing in his Daily Record column, he said: "So it seems Gio van Bronckhorst has been given a stay of execution. We’re five days on from Rangers’ defeat in Perth and the boss is still in post despite the widespread clamour that followed Sunday’s St Johnstone sickener demanding the Dutchman get his jotters.
"I listened to Gio’s press conference the other day where he said he hadn’t spoken to the board in the wake of that McDiarmid nightmare and that tells me he’s going nowhere. Frankly, if the men at the top of the marble staircase were going to bin the Ibrox boss, they’d have done it by now.
"They’d have given themselves as long as possible to get a new coach in, with the plan to give him a few weeks to get to know his players during the World Cup break. So if, as it now seems, they are going to stand by my old team-mate, it’s about time they gave him some proper backing in January and the best possible chance at turning this campaign around before it really collapses.
"There’s just no getting away from the fact that recruitment hasn’t been good enough. Antonio Colak apart, we’ve yet to see any of the other summer signings make an impact and they can’t afford a repeat of that when the winter transfer window opens in seven weeks’ time.
"I’m not saying they need to burst the bank but they have to make sure the new faces coming in improve the starting XI and give both the punters and the players the lift they’re crying out for. Gio is the one taking the flak right now but he’s not solely responsible for the signings.
"If the board decides to persist with the manager, then they owe it to him to provide the tools that can help get this team back on track. Rangers have finally got their house in order when it comes to the financials. The £5.9million profit recorded in the year up to June 30 was good news after a decade of losses.
"There should be another set of bumper figures in next year’s report, which will include the sums generated by the big-money sales of Calvin Bassey and Joe Aribo, plus this term’s Champions League windfall. But my concern is over what comes next.
"So this brings us back to January. It’s not just vital for Gio that Rangers make a success of this upcoming window, but the club too if they are to avoid falling behind Celtic in the financial arms race. They’re already lagging in this year’s title battle after Sunday, which was obviously a dreadful result.
"A lot of the players look mentally drained. If I was Gio, I’d be sending them all away for 10 days to clear their heads, telling them to spend some time with the family, recharge the batteries then come back refreshed, ready to get to work on the training ground and prepare for the second half of the season."
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