Credit: Imago

Daniel Davis

Sun 3 May 2026 7:10, UK

Danny Rohl knows Rangers will have to walk through fire and come out unscathed if they are to have any chance of keeping their fading Premiership title hopes alive.

The only problem is that leaders Hearts will be standing in their way at Tynecastle on Monday night, a truly mouthwatering prospect for the neutral. For Rohl, however, it threatens to be a match that defines his tenure at Ibrox. With the pressure building, he needs a win.

“They fight for something, they play for a historical season and they go all-in,” warned Rohl. “But we will also be ready for this. We go there and we’ll be ready to fight.”

Fight they must. Should they lose, they will slip seven off the pace with three matches to go – surely an insurmountable mountain. While Rohl deserves credit for steering the Light Blues back into contention, there remain major questions marks.

If Rangers are crowned the champions, he will deservedly be lauded as a hero. But should they finish the campaign in third, crowd sentiment is likely to turn against him.

Rangers standing by Danny Rohl

It should be said that there are absolutely no indications that the Gers are poised to make a drastic change in the dugout should they miss out on the title. It would seem churlish to bring the axe down on Rohl, who has largely delivered since replacing Russell Martin.

But there are multiple reasons why this debate is not as clear-cut as it perhaps should be. A split has separated supporters into two entrenched camps, with those backing Rohl on one side and those believing he cannot handle the scrutiny the Ibrox hot seat brings on the other.

This tension was obvious after the bruising defeat by Motherwell, which left Rangers four points adrift. Knee-jerk reactions demanded Rohl’s head, while even his most vehement backers were forced to question whether he truly can lead his side to the next level.

Then, the debate gave way to renewed unity. The club stitched itself back together over recent days with one shared objective in sight: beating Hearts and closing in on top spot.

Still, the pressure on Rohl is continuing to build.

Results have come in unpredictable peaks and troughs, while the level of uncertainty over whether he is right for the job has remained relatively constant. Of course, this is not the ideal time to debate his future, but it’s a valid conversation piece.

Defeat at Tynecastle would hand the advantage to those in the dissenting corner and ramp up the noise to a deafening volume. Regardless, this din will not come from within the Ibrox walls. There remains satisfaction with Rohl’s work to date.

Indeed, there is not believed to be any real pressure on the 37-year-old from the boardroom. This was proven during the warm-weather training camp held in Spain, when Rohl held talks with his superiors to plan his squad for next season and discuss areas of weakness.

Discussions are also said to have taken place around the game model, focused on how Rangers want to play moving forward and the standards needed to implement this.

Clearly, then, there remains an alignment between Rohl and those whose opinion truly matters, despite the gathering storm that could envelop him.

Rohl must transform Rangers culture

Transforming Rangers from nearly-rans to champions will perhaps be the task that makes or breaks Rohl at Ibrox. He has done all he can to keep morale high, having insisted he was keeping the faith even in the wake of the defeat by Motherwell.

But his squad seemingly lacks the same belief.

After arriving back in October as the third-choice for the role, following unsuccessful talks with Steven Gerrard and Kevin Muscat, he quickly steadied the ship. Under Martin, the Gers had drawn six of their previous eight matches and were 13 points off top spot.

Rohl set about lifting standards, and the results soon followed.

A resurgence saw them reignite their title ambitions, which had once looked an impossibility. However, the tide has begun to turn against him. There have been too many costly errors and dismal setbacks in recent months, even if his players are primarily to blame for those.

What Rohl must take responsibility for is a lack of consistency, both in the short and long term. Rangers have blown hot and cold, often within the same 90-minute span. They have a flaky belief and a brittle confidence, shown by displays against Falkirk and Motherwell.

This simply has to change, starting against Hearts on Monday.

“We like to play from a hunter position and now we want to hunt again,” Rohl said. Rangers need to smell blood and show no mercy at Tynecastle. Their campaign depends on it.

Updated 24/7 with expert analysis from the heart of Govan.