Ruud Gullit ‘very proud’ as Rangers speculation surrounds Pascal Jansen at Ibrox
Ruud Gullit has revealed he is “very proud” of what prospective Rangers manager Pascal Jansen has done in his career.
Speaking to BBC Sport Scotland (4 October), the former Chelsea boss admitted that a move to Ibrox would put Jansen under a lot of pressure compared to the expectations at his current side AZ Alkmaar.
Gullit also warned that a new manager would need to be afforded time at Rangers, something the Dutchman believes does not happen enough in the sport.
Gullit said: “Rangers is a big job. I think that [Jansen] has done very well with AZ. But yeah, Rangers is a huge club. We are not used to it, the biggest clubs are Feyenoord and of course Ajax and then PSV Eindhoven.
“He has been at a club that if he gets success it will be great, but if you go to Rangers you have to be successful. I am very proud of what he has achieved until now and of course, you have to give people a chance, but nowadays nobody has any patience. That’s the point, no patience!”
Exceptional option
The Rangers hierarchy are seemingly not short of options for their Michael Beale replacement. Per Sky Sports (3 October), the Gers have Kevin Muscat, Frank Lampard, John Eustace and Jansen on their list as potential replacements.
However, anyone excited about the prospect of Jansen taking the helm may have been put off by the Dutchman’s recent comments.
On speculation linking him to Rangers, Jansen said, as quoted by Glasgow World (4 October): “I don’t know if there has been contact with AZ, but there has been no contact with me. I also received it and received some messages from England, but I don’t know where it came from. It’s completely out of the question.”
A move being “completely out of the question” leaves very little room for speculation, but the club could have faith in convincing the 50-year-old to make the move to Ibrox. Jansen has performed very well in the Eredivisie and may be reluctant to leave such an exciting project to head to a risky job like Rangers.
Gullit’s warning to any potential new Rangers manager rings true. The expectations at the two big Scottish clubs are as high as any other club in world football. That amount of pressure could be a huge factor in suitors’ decision to take the role, especially considering the negative environment at the club currently.
AZ Alkmaar does not expect the same success as the Gers, so Jansen may struggle under the spotlight.
In other Rangers news, Derek McInnes has issued a “perils of the job” response with the Kilmarnock boss backed to replace Michael Beale.