Giovanni van Bronckhorst has 7 games to save his Rangers job ahead of World Cup
It’s been a tough period of the season for Giovanni van Bronckhorst and Rangers, and it’s only going to get tougher over the next few weeks.
The manager saw his future called into question after heavy Champions League defeats to Ajax, Napoli and Liverpool, with the most recent 7-1 drubbing at Anfield the final nail in the coffin for many.
But the team have responded to that performance by racking up two wins in a row against Motherwell in the Scottish Premiership and Dundee in the Scottish League Cup.
But despite the results being good in both games, the performances were not and it’s only led to more question marks over the manager’s future at Ibrox.
He now has a clear task – make a big impression over the next seven games or face giving the board a major decision to make during the World Cup break.
Rangers will face Livingston on Saturday (October 22), Napoli (October 26), Aberdeen (October 29), Ajax (1 November), St Johnstone (6 November), Hearts (9 November) and St Mirren (12 November) before the season is put on hold for a month.
Wins in the Champions League are highly unlikely with the team already eliminated and the two opponents set to do battle to make it to the next round.
But if they get hammered again as they did by both sides the first time around, then any good will made up in recent weeks since the Liverpool disaster will quickly be forgotten.
The five SPFL games they have in that period of time are all games that fans, pundits and ex-pros will be expecting that they win, but as we’ve seen recently just winning simply isn’t enough right now.
Rangers need to turn in performances that show they’re still the best team in Scotland and that Celtic are going to have a battle on their hands to retain their title, despite being two points clear at the top currently.
If they were to find themselves further behind in the race by the time the break comes around, then the board could seriously consider making a switch in management to breathe new life into a Rangers side who are clearly struggling for belief and quality right now.
Seven games sounds like a lot, but with so many fixtures in such a short space of time momentum can really build and swing in any direction.
Van Bronckhorst must get the team and it’s performances under control, or he could find himself without a job come December.
In other Rangers news, Ross Wilson could use his contacts to bring in five free agents next summer