Rangers board dodge AGM hostility amid manager moves as affordability doubts emerge
Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s sacking as Rangers manager has reduced the amount of hostility for the board at the upcoming AGM, according to The Times.
The Dutchman was removed on Monday (21 November) just when it looked as though the hierarchy had decided to give him the chance to rescue the Light Blues’ season, with significant anger expected before the club returns to action at the 6 December meeting.
But by having taken action, and with a replacement manager looking likely to be in place by then, Douglas Park and the board should have spared themselves some of the ire that they would otherwise have been subjected to.
The Times report on Tuesday said: “The break for the World Cup convinced the Ibrox board to act now and attempt to install a new manager who could have training time and an Ibrox friendly against Bayer Leverkusen on December 10 before their league season restarts five days later against Hibernian.
“Sacking Van Bronckhorst will also lessen expected hostility towards the Ibrox board from shareholders at the club’s AGM on December 6.”
While noting that Beale, Kjetil Knutsen, Sean Dyche and Kevin Muscat are all candidates to take the job, the report notes another linked name, Ralph Hasenhuttl, was “sacked earlier this month and would be available but possibly not affordable”.
Just in time
There are certain to be plenty of questions still about the amount of money to be made available for the new boss in the January transfer window.
But had nothing changed at Ibrox from the situation at the start of the World Cup break, with morale in the squad low and performances poor, there would have been outright mutiny among shareholders.
The Champions League campaign was an unmitigated failure, and falling nine points behind Celtic with the draw against St Mirren in the final game before Qatar may have given up the title race.
Hasenhuttl’s links to Ross Wilson, along with Dyche, make him an obvious name to be linked to the Rangers hot seat, but Beale appears to be emerging as the clear preference.
His interest in the job should make it easier to prize him out of QPR, but it similarly won’t be cheap or straight forward to acquire him given he is currently employed.
That makes the likes of the aforementioned pair attractive to a point, but having bitten the bullet in paying off Van Bronckhorst and his staff, it makes little sense for the Gers to scrimp now if they believe Beale is the right man.
In other Rangers news, sources have revealed a clash between senior players and the departed manager that helped lead to his exit.