Former footballer turned pundit Alan Rough has claimed that new Rangers manager Giovanni van Bronckhorst needs to find out what players will commit their future to the club following his return to Ibrox.
The Dutchman was instated as the Gers’ manager last week, and according to Rough, there is one key issue Van Bronckhorst must address first.
Indeed, while speaking for PLZ Soccer, Rough stated that the new man must ‘put his foot down’ and find out what players will be willing to sign new contracts at the Scottish champions.
He said: “The first thing that the new Rangers manager has got to do, he’s just got to address them and say, ‘right, who actually wants to be here?’
“We saw this scenario with Neil Lennon coming out and saying, ‘look, there’s some guys in that dressing room that don’t want to be here’.
“As a new manager, he needs to find out, ‘the ones that are out of contact, are you gonna sign or are you gonna keep stringing us along? Because if you’re not gonna sign the contract, then you’re not playing’.
“He has to really put his foot down. And it’s dragged on for a long time with two or three of the players, so he needs to know the players that he can depend on for the rest of the season.”
TIF Thoughts on Giovanni van Bronckhorst and Rangers…
As things stand, there are a number of Rangers men who will be out of contract at the end of the current season.
Indeed, the likes of Connor Goldson, Scott Arfield, Steven Davis, Jermain Defoe and Allan McGregor are all first-team players who can leave next season if they don’t renew their current deals (via Transfermarkt).
Will Giovanni van Bronckhorst succeed at Rangers?
Yes
No
During Steven Gerrard’s reign, there was much talk about Goldson’s future, but with that issue still not revolved, Van Bronckhorst has inherited a problem he may well have to address straight away.
The issue is all the more pertinent as we are close to arriving in January, where players running down their deals will be free to begin negotiations with different clubs to find themselves a new team for next season.
In other news: ‘One of the things I was told’ – Insider drops behind-scenes Ross Wilson claim at Rangers