TALKING RANGERS
TThe Dane always hoped he would return to Auchenhowie this season but the role he finds himself in isn’t the one he expected. He is grateful for the opportunity, however, and his impact could be just as profound.
Lovenkrands was one of a number of former Gers stars – alongside the likes of Barry Ferguson and Alex Rae – who spoke with boss Pedro Caixinha about joining his backroom team earlier this summer.
It was Jonatan Johansson that would earn a spot on the training ground and a seat in the dugout but that wasn’t the end of the road for Lovenkrands.
Just a few weeks later, he was back in blue after he joined Stephen Wright and Andy Little in taking up a youth coaching position as part of a revamp put in place by Head of Academy Craig Mulholland.
The Dane has been a regular at Ibrox in recent years as he has watched the action unfold at first team level. Now, he has a chance to shape the destiny of the stars of the future.
“Going into coaching was a little bit of a new thing,” Lovenkrands told SportTimes. “I have always had it in the back of my head that I wanted to do it and if the opportunity came along then I would be open to the idea of it.
“I really like doing the commentary. I will try and do both at the same time if I can.
“Coaching was only going to happen with the right opportunity and when Rangers came and offered me a job I was delighted.
“I went for the assistant job with the first team and almost got that, it was close between me and Jonatan. So to get offered this after that was good and I thought it would be really interesting to get my foot in the door and come back here and learn.
“I think Craig and the manager had a talk about it and it was a case of if there was an opening they could bring me in. I went well, so that is probably why I am here!”
The chance to return to familiar territory was too good to turn down for Lovenkrands and a move into coaching will be the next chapter in his career.
The walls of the Rangers Training Centre are adorned with pictures of memorable triumphs and the shirts of players who became heroes to a generation of fans.
They serve as a reminder of the levels that Rangers aspire to reach once again and act as an inspiration for the next crop of kids who have their own dreams in Light Blue.
One day, Lovenkrands hopes he has a chance to lift some silverware as a manager in his own right. But he is happy to be able to play a role in shaping the careers off th those underd hi his guidance.id I would like to work higher up at some point but I am really enjoying the level I am at right now and working with younger players,” he said.
“That is not to say that if another opportunity came along I wouldn’t be interested in that.
“But, management wise, that is not something I would be interested in right now. Depending on the opportunity, I think I would be better suited for an assistant role in the first team.
“I think I need to learn a lot more about the game as a manager, not only football wise but outside that and how to work with scouts, chairmen, the rest of the aspects of the job that you don’t really know until you have done it.
“I think the best way of learning that is being an assistant and seeingi h how th that t worksk f from th the background. Let’s be honest, you don’t see many players go straight into management and do well. The top managers in the world, they have all built-up and I think that is important.”
THE appointment of Lovenkrands, Wright and Little is an important piece of the jigsaw for Rangers as Mulholland and his team look to produce a handful of first team players every season.
The Gers youth chief has set lofty targets for the Light Blues to achieve and wants the system at Auchenhowie to become one of the most well-regarded in the game.
The Ibrox board have invested time and money into the youth development programme in recent years and Lovenkrands knowsk it i is cruciali l R Rangers see the benefits in the future.
“It is important at any club that you have young players coming through every year to fight for a place in the team or the club to sell on if that is the case,” he said. “If you have a good development area, that is crucial.
“A lot of people think about the Class of ‘92 at Man Utd coming through and that is the standard that you want to get to where you can bring that many players in and they go on to that top-class level.
“All Academies have that dream and it is the right thing to do because it benefits the club. Hopefully I can play my part in that.”
No matter the trials and tribulations, the highs and the lows, that will unfold in the coming months at first team level, the strategy will remain the same in Rangers’ youth department. Everything – from the facilities to the opportunities – is there for those that have the ability and mentality to turn their dreams into a reality.
Lovenkrands has already lived his in Light Blue. Those who look up to him now have to follow in his footsteps. He said: “It is nice to be back at the club again and the atmosphere around the training ground is great.
“I am really enjoying it. The boys I am working with, I am really surprised with their technique and the standards so that is nice to see.
“I have been away from the training ground for a while now and it is just nice to come through the gates again and being in this fantastic facility. They look after the boys and look after us as coaches as well. It is a joy to work here but you can’t take that for granted.”