WINTER BREAK-UP IS COMING

Looks ominous for Gio as Ibrox is silent

BY ANDY NEWPORT GIOVANNI VAN BRONCKHORST was last night still waiting for word from the Ibrox boardroom as his Rangers future hangs in the balance. The beleaguered boss, who flew back to Holland over the weekend as Scottish football entered its World Cup shutdown, is due to celebrate his first anniversary in the job on

Saturday.

But the

Dutchman now believes his days at the club may be numbered after Saturday’s damaging draw with St Mirren.

Now nine points adrift of Celtic, the clamour for his head continues to grow. Van Bronckhorst admitted in Paisley he expected talks when he said: “We are going to sit down (with the board) and speak about the last couple of months and which way to go forward. I have no fear, I never have fear.”

But his camp have yet to be contacted by chairman Douglas Park or managing director Stewart Robertson, with talks on his future still to be scheduled.

The fans’ clamour for the manager to be sacked comes amid more pressure on the club as Dave King prepares to fly back in to Glasgow.

He is determind to heap fresh pressure on the under-fire Ibrox board ahead of next month’s powderkeg AGM.

If Gers do decide to pull the trigger, it’s

rumoured the cost of the compensation package required to remove the former Feyenoord coach and his backroom team could run to more than £3.5million.

Former Ibrox star van Bronckhorst returned to Glasgow last November and brought with him compatriots Dave Vos, Roy Maakay,

Arno Philips and Yori Bosschaart, while former Manchester City coaching guru Ceri Bowley joined in the summer.

Also, there are growing signs of disharmony in the ranks, with a report claiming the Rangers boss was in a “disagreement” with Glen Kamara after the match.

The Finland ace was handed his first start since August but was hooked at half-time as Gers struggled.

It’s claimed he spent the second half in the SMISA Stadium foyer before moving to the tunnel as James Tavernier’s late penalty rescued a point.

Rangers now have five weeks before they return to action against Hibs on December 15.

But former Light Blues striker Kenny Miller urged the club’s top brass to come to a swift decision.

He said: “There needs to be some kind of decision. A real, clear decision. If that is the decision to go with Gio then there is a lot of work that needs to be done in this break.”