Next Rangers manager: Two axed Prem bosses early candidates for role after Van Bronckhorst sacking

Giovanni van Bronckhorst

Rangers have confirmed the sacking of manager Giovanni van Bronckhorst, with the search for his replacement now underway.

The 47-year-old had come under pressure at Rangers following a string of poor results and performances. The Scottish giants were eliminated from the Champions League group stage without picking up a single point, as they conceded 22 goals in six defeats.

Rangers are also lagging behind Celtic in the race for the Scottish Premiership title. They are nine points behind their rivals after dropping points to St Mirren, St Johnstone and Livingston since October 21.

Reports revealed Rangers were considering parting ways with Van Bronckhorst, and club chiefs at Ibrox have now acted.

In a statement on Monday morning, they confirmed his departure. It read: ‘Rangers Football Club confirms today it has parted company with manager Giovanni van Bronckhorst. The board would like to put on record sincere thanks to Gio for all his efforts since his appointment as manager.

‘Unfortunately, results and performances over recent months haven’t met expectations and the decision was made today by the board to terminate the contract of the manager.

‘The search for the new manager is now underway.’

Club chairman Douglas Park said: “I want to thank Gio for the hard work he has put in over the last 12 months and, especially, the achievements of taking the club to the Europa League final and winning the Scottish Cup last season.

Rangers chairman admits decision was ‘difficult’

“Unfortunately, recent results have not met neither our nor Gio’s expectations, and we have taken this difficult decision today. Everyone at Rangers wishes Gio every success in the future.”

The Daily Record have provided a report detailing the coaches who could take over from Van Bronckhorst. And there are some interesting names on the list.

Steven Gerrard is being linked with a huge return to Rangers, just over a year after he left for the Aston Villa job.

Gerrard had a hugely successful spell with the Gers, guiding them to the league title in the 2020-21 campaign. They also went unbeaten that season, winning 32 and drawing the remaining six of their 38 league outings.

Unfortunately for those at Villa, Gerrard couldn’t repeat his success south of the border and was sacked by the Villans hierarchy last month.

Steven Gerrard linked with huge Rangers return

This means the Liverpool great is a free agent and could move back to Glasgow by completing a sensational return to Rangers.

Gerrard isn’t the only recently sacked Premier League boss being linked with the role. The report names Ralph Hasenhuttl as a potential replacement for Van Bronckhorst.

Hasenhuttl became the first Austrian to manage in the Prem when he joined Southampton in December 2018. However, his spell at St Mary’s came to an end earlier this year, with Nathan Jones arriving from Luton as his successor.

Hasenhuttl could be a slightly controversial appointment among Gers supporters. While he helped Southampton to maintain their status as a mid-table Prem side, they were also poor defensively under his management. Indeed, they lost 9-0 twice while he was in charge.

Chris Wilder is also on the list of potential managerial arrivals. He previously had an extremely successful spell with Sheffield United. But Wilder is now looking for a new team after his sacking by Middlesbrough.

Another option is former Burnley boss Sean Dyche. And he could be a great choice too, given how well he did at Turf Moor with a limited budget.

Meanwhile, Liverpool are reportedly preparing to scout one of Jude Bellingham’s England team-mates at the World Cup.