Giovanni van Bronckhorst spoke with Rangers directors before sack, wanted new signings
Giovanni van Bronckhorst wanted some new signings in January to turn the form of Rangers around, and held talks with the directors before he was sacked.
The Dutch coach saw his year-long tenure brought to an end on Monday morning (21 November) with the club nine points adrift of Celtic at the top of the SPFL and eliminated from the Champions League group stages.
But speaking to Sky Sports News (22 November), Dutch journalist Marcel van der Kraan shared that he spoke to Van Bronckhorst just before he was sacked and he was still hopeful of turning things around, while also revealing some details of what happened behind the scenes.
“I spoke to him just before he was actually sacked and he was still very hopeful that he would be in charge because he felt if he could get a couple of investments with some new players, some strengthening of the side, that he could turn things around,” he said.
“He’s been in that position before with Feyenoord and a year later in Holland he made them champions with just a little budget.
“But he said to me, look, when he sold all the best players, Aribo, Bassey to Ajax for 20-odd million, a lot of money came in but the investment that actually came back into the team were very limited.
“I think this is where he’s been a victim of his own success, having taken them to the Europa League final and winning the cups and having to work with a small bunch of players at the top, top level.
“Absolutely [he felt he could turn it around]. He spoke with the directors and they asked him that question, and he said yes I can turn it around, he was very confident.
“And he’s turned it around in the past in Holland as I said. He was looking forward to coming back. He was going on a holiday with his family, recharging the batteries. Having played so many games in such a short time, because normally we would see the Champions League group stages stretched out over a longer period.
“But because of the World Cup they had to play every week. A team like Rangers, who had not been in the Champions League for ten years, they were struggling with their fitness and their physique, and the squad wasn’t big enough to rotate.
“Having ten injuries over the last few weeks was almost an emphasis of all the troubles they’ve had trying to field a team. Gio thought in the World Cup break we can have a recharge of the batteries, the fitness of the players, everything can go back to normal.
“I think he’s very disappointed that they did make that decision and I have a feeling the decision wasn’t made by the directors, but by the investors and the owners.
“Absolutely. I think the owners react quickly to the fans. Gio said look, he understands, he’s a grown up manager. He’s been in football for many years and he’s been there as a player. And he said if the fans go against you, I know it’s going to be difficult because that’s a momentum for the board of directors or the owners. It’s difficult for them to go against the fans.
“Maybe that was the biggest problem for him, that the atmosphere wasn’t right anymore.”
Right decision
Obviously Van Bronckhorst won’t feel this way, but it seemed pretty clear to anyone with eyes that the decision to let him go was the right one based on everything that had been happening recently.
Rangers picked up just seven wins in their last 18 games in all competitions and the players had completely stopped playing for him, with the style and swagger out of the window.
Results were poor, performances were worse and the fans and players weren’t interested anymore, he had to go.
Obviously new signings may have helped to turn the tide a little, but the team has gone backwards since he arrived a year ago with the team six points clear of Celtic, to losing the title and then now being nine points behind them.
He’ll be remembered for that European run last year and the Scottish Cup win, but ultimately the club did the right thing by letting him go when they did.
In other Rangers news, McCoist shares verdict on manager’s job candidates