Former Dutch national team coach Dwight Lodeweges has admitted that he turned down the opportunity to work with Rangers under Giovanni van Bronckhorst.
Dutch manager van Bronckhorst, 47, joined the Gers in November after Steven Gerrard left the club, initially bringing Roy Makaay, Arno Phillips and Yori Bosschart with him.
The hunt was then on for van Bronckhorst’s right-hand man with Makaay focusing on the strikers, Phillips on fitness and Bosschart on data analysis.
So much of the conversation surrounded Jean Paul van Gastel, Gio’s number two at Feyenoord and Guangzhou but the Dutch coach opted to remain in charge of the Chinese Super League side.
Eventually, the club moved for Jong Ajax coach Dave Vos, a talented young coach who’d spent ten years working in the highly-regard Ajax academy.
Dwight Lodeweges turned down Rangers opportunity
Speaking to ESPN, highly-regarded veteran coach Dwight Lodeweges revealed that he was offered the chance to work with van Bronckhorst in Glasgow.
However, the 64-year-old Canadian-born Dutch coach – who has twice been caretaker manager of the Netherlands national team and had a short spell in charge of PSV – opted to remain in the Netherlands because his wife had not long had an accident.
“I could go with Giovanni van Bronckhorst to Rangers,” said Dwight Lodeweges.
“That would be wonderful, of course, but I couldn’t do that.”
Having worked with Dutch Rangers duo Ronald and Frank de Boer in the Netherlands coaching set-up, Dwight Lodeweges would’ve been well versed with the Ibrox club.
It’s also interesting to note the change in direction at Ibrox, going from a veteran Dutch coach to an up-and-coming young Dutch manager.
Dwight Lodeweges has enjoyed a near 40-year career in football, first as a player in the Netherlands and Canada before carving out a coaching career predominantly in Holland.
Meanwhile, one Rangers-linked Euro star has been talking about his future as his contract ticks down in Germany.
