Can Gio afford to see a Gers bounce go flat?
Ibrox fringe men call could prove costly in Lyon
THE only way Giovanni van Bronckhorst could have enjoyed a bigger new boss bounce was if he had used a springboard to vault his way up the marble staircase.
Four games in, four wins pocketed since Rangers turned to the 46-year-old Dutchman on the rebound after their break-up with Steven Gerrard.
It’s no leap of the imagination to say the former Feyenoord manager will be thrilled with how things have gone.
But here’s the dilemma going into tonight’s Lyon clash.
There’s nothing to be gained at the Groupama Stadium with both sides already safely through to the Europa League knockout stages.
So does Gio risk his bounce on a dead rubber?
Van Bronckhorst has quickly put a spring back in Rangers’ step after a stuttering campaign.
A defence that was about as trustworthy as a Tory cabinet minister has suddenly bucked up its ideas, while first-team stars who appeared to be going through the motions are now motoring along nicely.
The only thing at stake is a measly £500,000 in prize money.
Every penny is a prisoner at Ibrox these days but there are 40 million reasons why winning the Premiership this season and claiming that automatic Champions League slot is Rangers’ No.1 priority.
Gio won’t want to arrest his early momentum by picking up some needless injuries.
The manager has already made it clear he’s going to ring the changes for his reunion with Feyenoord mentor Peter Bosz.
But just as a couple of knocks hold the potential to kick Gers’ title push off track, so too does a deflating shoeing off the Ligue 1 giants.
Lyon showed their class at Ibrox in September when they strolled to a 2-0 victory.
Gerrard’s team were seldom outclassed in Europe but like Leverkusen and Slavia Prague, the French side were far too slick for the Scottish champions.
If the Light Blues go in under strength, the fear is they could cop an even heavier beating and sap the fragile confidence that is slowly but assuredly returning under van Bronckhorst.
The changes he’s made to Gerrardball might seem minor but they’ve had a major impact.
Before the new manager arrived, Rangers’ rock-solid backline of last year had become a soft touch with the Ibrox men shipping a goal a game on average.
The sample size under Gerrard’s successor may be small but three clean sheets out of four on offer, with just one goal conceded, certainly makes for better reading. The tinkering has started with the forward line but the effects ripple backwards. Ryan Kent and Ianis Hagi were billed as dual No.10s under the previous regime – fancy talk for narrow playmakers – but are now being shunted out to the touchlines and asked to operate like traditional wingers.
Under Gerrard, the onus of providing the width fell to fullbacks James Tavernier and Borna Barisic.
All the while the pair were expected to do their bit keeping the door shut at the back.
It was a gruelling shift, with these two forced to hare up and down the length of the pitch to fulfil their duties in both boxes.
But Gio’s alterations up top have relieved the full-backs of much of the attacking burden. That may end up detracting from Tavernier’s impressive scoring rate but it’s helping Barisic, who has never looked steadier in a defensive sense since he arrived in 2018.
With Kent and Hagi no longer clogging up the inside channels, the Ibrox faithful have also seen players such as Joe Aribo and Scott Arfield show more of their best form now the traffic outside the box has cleared.
This evening we’ll get to see how some of van Bronckhorst’s fringe men fare under the new system.
Ryan Jack could come back in for his first start in nine months, with John Lundstram a potential partner in midfield.
Nathan Patterson, Kemar Roofe and Scott Wright will also be hoping for game time.
Van Bronckhorst will just have to hope the changes don’t burst his bounce.