BUCKING BRONCKO

Gio takes Ibrox reins and vows to give shirkers a boot up backside

GIOVANNI VAN BRONCKHORST swept into power at Rangers yesterday and vowed to get tough on any player who doesn’t have the stomach to be a winner.

The Dutchman officially became the Ibrox club’s 17th permanent boss after putting pen to paper on a threeand-a-half-year deal to become Steven Gerrard’s successor.

But van Bronckhorst’s appointment came less than 24 hours after he watched his new team being humiliated by Hibs in a Premier Sports Cup semi-final.

The 3-1 rout led to vicecaptain Connor Goldson

(right) admitting too many of his team-mates have lost their hunger for trophies.

And the Dutchman – who described himself as a disciplinarian – then insisted he’ll crack the whip if he believes there are players hiding in his dressing room who have lost their desire to succeed.

Van Bronckhorst said: “I expect that everyone is on board with me. I will prepare them in their attitude, their hunger, whatever.

“As a coach and a player, I think the hunger has to come from within yourself. It starts with that. That would make it a lot easier as a coach. Being involved in football all my life, I know what needs to be done and what you have to do to be successful.

“That message I got across as a coach from when I started. I will keep doing that. If something or some player thinks otherwise, they will have a tough manager in me.”

Van Bronckhorst revealed he plans to talk to Gerrard over the coming weeks as he familiarises himself with a squad built by the previous boss. But he’s seen enough already to identify weaknesses that he plans to urgently address.

He added: “I’ve seen footage of the team and games they have played this season. It’s a great squad, they won the league last year. “In the second year, to be champions is more difficult. But we are still in a good place. Of course we are not happy with the result on Sunday. We can see some things I want to change and we have to be better at.

“But my first meeting with the players will be tomorrow. It’s better to tell them first and look them in their eyes, to make sure that from tomorrow on, we do everything to be successful with this club.”