THE 1-1 draw with St Mirren in Paisley on Saturday left Rangers nine points behind Celtic in the cinch Premiership table and their manager Giovanni van Bronckhorst on the brink of the sack.
The Dutchman has revealed he will hold talks with the Ibrox board about the situation, and his own position, in the coming days. Will the directors stand by him? Or will they decide that his tenure has run its course and sack him?
Most fans of the Glasgow giants have run out of patience with the former Champions League winner and World Cup finalist. But he still has a dwindling number of backers. Here our writers ask: “Should Gio stay or should he go?”
STAY, says Matthew Lindsay
THE Rangers supporters who have been clamouring for Giovanni van Bronckhorst to be sacked as manager in recent days should pause for a minute and ask themselves a question.
What coach would have done a better job this season with the players the Dutchman has had at his disposal?
Would Sean Dyche, who many fans of the Ibrox club would like to see brought in, have overseen a Champions League win over Ajax at home earlier this month with an 18-year-old and a midfielder playing in the centre of his defence?
Would Kjetil Knutsen, the Norwegian who has turned Bodo/Glimt into the dominant outfit in his homeland and a force in Europe, have avoided the heavy defeats to Liverpool and Napoli with an understrength team if he had been in charge?
Would Michael Beale or even Steven Gerrard have dealt with the loss of a raft of experienced players and ensured the Glasgow side remained in touch with their city rivals Celtic at the top of the cinch Premiership table?
Van Bronckhorst has certainly made mistakes in recent weeks and months. But he has not been helped by the absences of Ben Davies, Connor Goldson, Filip Helander, John Souttar, Ridvan Yilmaz, Glen Kamara, Ryan Jack, Ianis Hagi, Fashion Sakala, Tom Lawrence, Kemar Roofe and Antonio Colak.
The problems down Govan way run far deeper than the man who occupies the dugout. So is it really fair for the Dutchman to pay the price? And will a change really spark the turnaround in fortunes their followers demand?
Yes, Rangers should have performed to a higher level than they did against Livingston, St Johnstone and St Mirren with the talent that they had out on the park. But James Tavernier and his team mates should be under just as much scrutiny as the man who selects the starting line-up.
Many of them are low on confidence and out-of-form. A few look in desperate need of a rest having been asked to play too much. Others are getting on in years and are way past their best. Some are simply not good enough and should be moved on. A couple clearly do not want to be there.
Is a new manager going to sort that out by the time club football resumes after the World Cup break?
There was outrage among the Rangers support when no new players were brought in after qualification for the Champions League group stages was secured back in August. Everybody knew the squad was not good enough to compete with the Dutch, English and Italian giants they were drawn alongside in Group A. So why was there such an outcry when they subsequently bombed?
Domestically, there is no excuse for being nine points adrift of leaders Celtic in the cinch Premiership. But Ange Postecoglou lavished just shy of £20m on new players in the summer. His counterpart spent little over £10m. You do the math.
Giovanni Van Bronckhorst is deserving of loyalty, time and funds from his employers given the problems he has been forced to contend with and his past achievements. He can turn things around if he is given the chance.
GO, says Aidan Smith
THE World Cup break is now upon us, and Rangers must act fast in their hunt for a new manager.
Time is up for Giovanni van Bronckhorst after a string of unacceptable results both domestically and in Europe and it now feels as if the majority of supporters are looking for change.
The Dutchman, despite recent results, deserves credit for his run to the Europa League final last term, but the bread and butter of results in the Scottish Premiership are where it has gone so wrong.
Last season Rangers finished four points behind their bitter rivals Celtic and despite pushing them close, in the end, there was never any doubt about where the league trophy was heading.
Fast forward a season and already the Ibrox outfit are trailing by nine points and there is a similar feeling that the title race is done and dusted at this early period.
Celtic are simply performing far better. Ange Postecoglou’s team also possesses the impressive traits of dealing with pressure and digging out results even when they are not playing to the best of their ability.
In contrast, dealing with pressure appears to be a problem at Ibrox. In recent weeks against St Johnstone and St Mirren van Bronckhorst’s team has lacked energy, ideas and look bereft of confidence as a team.
There is a feeling at the moment that if the Govan side goes behind domestically to a team who are strict defensively then three points will be lost. It is not good enough.
The players need to take criticism for this, but ultimately van Bronckhorst refuses to change things up on the park. The shape of the team has remained the same and for those who are resolute defensively, Rangers are becoming straightforward to set up against.
Injuries have also been a huge problem for the Ibrox manager, and the strict 4-2-3-1 formation is probably partly down to this.
Glen Kamara, Antonio Colak, Ben Davies, Connor Goldson, Ianis Hagi, Filip Helander, Tom Lawrence, Kemar Roofe, Fashion Sakala, John Souttar, Ridvan Yilmaz, and Leon King are all currently struggling with knocks. It really is quite the list.
But those who have been fit and playing recently should be stepping up to the mark. They haven’t and that points to a lack of belief in what and who they are playing for.
The Scottish Premiership returns on December 15 for Rangers when they take on Hibernian, so the club have around a month to act and rectify the sticky situation they are in.
A change in manager early would allow a period of preparation for this game and would also help to gauge the current squad ahead of a hugely important January transfer window.
First-team players Scott Arfield, Steven Davis, Alfredo Morelos, Ryan Kent, Filip Helander, Ryan Jack, Malik Tillman and James Sands are all out of contract in 2023, and the Ibrox squad as whole needs a huge amount of work.
It remains to be seen whether van Bronckhorst will be the man tasked to clear out the dead wood before adding some much-needed quality, but a change must be made if they are to have any hope of the title this season.
The bookies fancy Steven Gerrard for a possible Ibrox return. I’m not sure this is the answer, but sticking with van Bronckhorst certainly is not the way out of the current rot.
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