One year ago Marcel van der Kraan was breaking the news of Giovanni van Bronckhorst interest in the Rangers job, now the Dutch journalist is claiming the ex-Feyenoord boss has the Ibrox board’s backing.
Marcel van der Kraan is clearly close to the Rangers boss and after the departure of Steven Gerrard a year ago, was confirming that the Gers had held initial talks with their former player.
But how things have changed in 12 calendar months with Rangers reaching the high of a Europa League Final and winning the Scottish Cup but Van Bronckhorst twice failing to keep pace with Celtic in the Scottish Premiership.
Rangers earned two points from a possible nine against Livingston, St Johnstone and St Mirren heading into the break and now trail their Old Firm rivals by nine points.
Couple this with the woeful performance in the Champions League and for many, Giovanni van Bronckhorst must pay the ultimate price.
Marcel van der Kraan: Rangers to back Van Bronckhorst
As fans bay for the Dutchman’s blood, Marcel van der Kraan has revealed that the Rangers Board are set to stick by Giovanni van Bronckhorst amid a series of injury problems.
The Gers squad has been decimated with injury all season long as the consolidated season takes its toll ahead of the Qatar World Cup.
“I think he’s counting on the fact that he will be there once the World Cup is over,” said Van der Kraan [Sky Sports].
“I think he’s gone on holiday at the moment. He is aware there is some unrest amongst the fans.
“Rangers is a massive club in Scotland and have a reputation in Europe, you can see that when they went to the Europa League final.
“They’ve played against all the big teams [in the Champions League] with a very limited squad and that squad was not built for the Champions League, Scottish League and a cup etc.
“Ten injuries at the moment, he knows he has to work hard with this team. I think he’s got the backing of the board and he’s counting on the backing of the board because they have not invested a lot and if you look at the amount of injuries they’ve had, it would be very unfair to sack him.”
Given Marcel van der Kraan’s links to Van Bronckhorst, it’s fair to assume he’s talking with a fair amount of clarity on the situation.
Rangers fans will be frustrated by the latest update and if the Board are deciding to stick by Giovanni van Bronckhorst heading into the second half of the season, then they best hope it doesn’t backfire.
It’s not just the results which have Rangers fans fuming as Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s uninspiring style of play and a lack of motivation and leadership also come under the microscope.
Whilst the Board appear set to back their man, could it also concern an expensive pay-off package for Gio and his staff?
