Pascal Jansen has been fired by Dutch outfit AZ Alkmaar only a few months after Rangers reportedly looked at him before replacing Mick Beale with Philippe Clement.
One Eredivisie expert, speaking on the other side of Christmas, insisted that Pascal Jansen would likely have ‘failed’ had he taken over at Ibrox, highlighting AZ Alkmaar’s tendency to flit from the awesome to the abysmal while accusing the 39-year-old of squandering ‘the best young talent in the whole of the Netherlands’.
And the same frustrations Michael Bell felt – speaking on the Football Oranje podcast – appear to have been shared by some higher-ups behind the scenes at the AFAS Stadium.
Jansen was officially relieved of his duties on Wednesday, nearly three months to the day since he admitted to being ‘flattered’ by the reports linking him with Rangers.
Rangers linked Pascal Jansen sacked by AZ Alkmaar
“I have been around the football world long enough that I know this can be part of it,” Jansen tells the AZ website. “It is, of course a shame and disappointing.
“Despite this disappointment, I am proud of my time at the club and the opportunities I have been given here. And above all, I would like to thank my players and staff for the pleasant and intensive cooperation. I wish the club and its people all the best in the future.”
Jansen, despite losing three of his last five Eredivisie games, leaves AZ in a respectable fourth place. They did drop out of the Europa Conference League in the group-stage, however, a major set-back for a side who reached the semi finals of that same competition in 2022/23.
AZ stutter as Rangers fly under Philippe Clement
“Ultimately, we have decided to break up,” AZ director of football Max Huiberts explains. “Despite the difficult and drastic decision, we are grateful to Pascal for what he has meant to the club over the past five years. We wish him every success in his further career.”
Rangers, meanwhile, are going strong under Clement, winning a trophy, securing the spot in the knockout stages of the Europa League, and breathing down Celtic’s necks domestically despite December’s 2-1 Old Firm derby defeat.
Another of the names tipped to take Beale’s place in the autumn, Frank Lampard, remains without a job. Nenad Bjelica, meanwhile, has endured a mixed start at Union Berlin in the Bundesliga.
