Michael Stewart shares Giovanni van Bronckhorst sack verdict on BBC Sportscene after win v Hearts
Rangers managed to squeeze their way past Hearts on Wednesday evening (9 November) to return to winning ways in the Premiership.
Malik Tillman bagged the only goal of the game in the second half of what was a timid game with the Jambos not threatening Allan McGregor’s goal much all night.
Michael Stewart recognised the enormity of the victory and three points for Giovanni van Bronckhorst with his job at Ibrox coming under fire.
“It was a huge victory,” Stewart said on BBC Sportscene. “I think the performance overall was teetering on a knife edge of being one of those games where it ends 0-0, performance is a little bit flat.
“Not really opened up Hearts a great deal but that goal changes everything. All of a sudden there is a lot more positivity and something to build on going to St Mirren.
“We heard the manager talk about it there and he’s spoken before, forget performances at this stage it is results that will build confidence and breed a little bit more belief, not just among the players but the fans as well.
“That performance, there wasn’t a great deal of difference between that and Livingston, for example, Hearts were quite comfortable without causing Rangers too many problems.
“The goal from Tillman is the only difference between getting battered and slaughtered off people and people thinking ‘don’t panic, things aren’t too bad’.”
Right direction
The overall performance may have flattered to deceive but winning means Rangers are taking steps in the right direction, even if it was by one slender goal.
Tillman really bailed his manager out of a big hole against the Jam Tarts as he used his World Cup omission by the United States as fuel to prove he is a match-winner.
There is no getting around the fact that the all-around display was still lacking an awful lot and one well put together move does not mean that van Bronckhorst is in the clear to keep his job long term.
St Mirren pose the final test before the World Cup break during which the manager has to get his squad together and find a way to make them enjoy the game again as the pressure of playing for Rangers seems to be weighing them down.
If there was one big positive of the win against Hearts, it was the performance off the bench of Alfredo Morelos who looked much more like his usual self replacing Antonio Colak.
In other Rangers news, former Celtic man Kris Commons is not convinced by van Bronckhorst and took aim at him in his latest column.