Rangers looked into appointing Nenad Bjelica as Michael Beale’s successor and he appears to be making a positive impact at Union Berlin.
Rangers sacked Michael Beale in October, pulling the trigger after a disappointing start to the season.
Beale was backed over the summer but wasn’t getting results or performances out of his re-tooled Rangers squad.
The Gers board took their time and ended up landing Philippe Clement in a move which is going very well.
Clement remains without a defeat as Rangers boss and could secure a first piece of silverware in the Viaplay Cup final this weekend.
Nenad Bjelica praised after Rangers links
Rangers were linked with other managers before picking Clement, and one of them was Nenad Bjelica.
The Croatian isn’t a household name but has plenty of managerial experience.
Bjelica coached the likes of Karnten, Austria Wien, Spezia, Lech Poznan, Dinamo Zagbred, Osijek and Trabzonspor.
Sacked by Trabzonspor on October 12th after eight wins and eight defeats in 16 games, Bjelica suddenly became linked with the Rangers job.
TEAMtalk reported that Bjelica wanted the Ibrox job and had thrown his hat into the ring for a move to Rangers.
The job went to Clement and Bjelica ended up in Germany, taking over Union Berlin.
Union enjoyed a dream season last term as they qualified for the Champions League, but their start to this term was a nightmare.
Bjelica has now been praised by Union striker Kevin Volland, who has been speaking to Get German Football News.
Volland, who played under Clement at Monaco, has hailed Bjelica for making the Union squad believe again through preparation and ‘passion with pace’.
“The new coach has focused on making sure we are prepared, playing our best and making us believe. We have been playing well in training, passing with pace, with purpose,” said Volland.
“Sometimes we just needed a break. We changed the system, everyone knows we are in a s**t situation and sometimes we can change our mind, we changed our mindset, as a team we came closer together. You can see it on the pitch in how we played today. There was freedom, we were more relaxed,” he added.
Bjelica secured a 3-1 win over Borussia Monchengladbach over the weekend and will now take on Real Madrid tonight.
Rangers will be delighted with the choice to appoint Clement and Union will probably be just as happy that Bjelica didn’t end up at Ibrox as he attempts to lead a change of fortunes in Berlin.
