GIO STICKS TO HIS GUNS AS HEAT IS TURNED UP
Defiant boss still sees positives as he tries to navigate choppy waters
HE may currently be standing within a whirlwind of negativity, but Giovanni van Bronckhorst refuses to be blown away by outside perceptions of his work as Rangers manager.
Van Bronckhorst doesn’t hide from the obvious. He accepts many recent performances have not been good enough. A Champions League campaign spawning five defeats, one goal scored and 19 conceded has come in tandem with unconvincing domestic efforts. His side have been booed off in each of their last two games at Ibrox.
Amid rising supporter dissatisfaction and a four-point gap to Celtic, the Dutchman knows the pressure is very much on. A winning display, in every sense, is sorely needed against Aberdeen this afternoon. Otherwise, scrutiny will be ratcheted up again.
That’s where he stands, yet Van Bronckhorst still views this as a moment for some positive thinking. And, perhaps, for a different viewpoint on the course of this whole season to date.
Five months on from reaching the Europa League final and coming so close to an indelible piece of history, Rangers are two points better off than they were following the first 11 Premiership games of last term under Steven Gerrard. Unlike Gerrard, Van Bronckhorst has also delivered Champions League qualification.
While the latter feat may have actually worked against the 47-year-old in terms of the bruising defeats that followed, he can still point to it as part of a case for the defence when his prosecutors are growing ever louder.
‘It’s the perspective you see,’ argued Van Bronckhorst. ‘It’s how you want to look at it.
‘There are always two ways to look at it. Some will look for a negative, others a positive. The glass is either half-full or halfempty, that is always the case.
‘As you say, we are two points better off than this time last year, we have qualified for the Champions League after 12 years and we have reached a Europa League final.
‘I’m looking at what we have already achieved and what we might still achieve this season.
‘Europe is different, the Champions League is a different level than we are used to. But we are still competing for the championship and we are through to the semi-final of the (League) Cup.
‘There are so many positive things to look forward to. That’s always my way of thinking.’
The mounting clamour over whether he should stay in his job isn’t distracting to a manager seasoned by good times and bad from his period in charge of Feyenoord.
‘It’s the way,’ he continued. ‘I don’t really think about it. You get it because people are talking about it.
‘That’s the environment we are living in now with social media. It puts the message across. You can see south of the border, subtitles of chants from supporters.
‘It only adds to the pressure we already have as managers.
‘I’ve been here in the past. I’ve had worse situations than we are in now — as you said, we are in the Champions League having reached a European final.
‘With Feyenoord, we only got our three points (in the Champions League) in the final minute of our final game. It’s the level in Europe we are facing and sometimes people forget to put it into perspective.
‘But overall I am always positive, I have learned from experiences as a coach. I once lost seven games in a row, that was without the Champions League.
‘We have to keep going. We are in a situation where we miss many influential players, but that happens in football. It adds to the challenge and we need to deal with it.’
That seven-game horror run occurred in his first season at Feyenoord. In the following campaign, he ended an 18-year wait for the Eredivisie title in Rotterdam. So, does Van Bronckhorst still believe he could complete a similar transformation in mood at Ibrox?
‘We have to concentrate on the way we work, that’s what I did during that period,’ he reflected. ‘You keep sticking to your beliefs and don’t change a lot. Most of
the time, big changes like that don’t help.
‘I am confident in the way I work, the way I train, the way I prepare my team and my tactics. Of course, the tactics are dynamic. You have to evolve with the teams you are facing.
‘If you look back at my time as a coach, I have been successful with my teams. Why do I have to change?
‘I am confident with the relationship I have with my players. They are working hard, they are training hard and they are trying the best they can.’
Rangers declined to re-enter the transfer market after achieving Champions League qualification, meaning Van Bronckhorst’s squad didn’t immediately benefit from it. With the hammerings in Group A having an inevitable impact on confidence domestically, it’s tempting to argue another season of Europa League football might have ultimately been better for the Ibrox manager and those under his command.
‘I always try to reach the highest level possible,’ countered Van Bronckhorst, whose team lost 3-0 to Napoli on Wednesday night. ‘That is always your intention.
‘That’s what my players did at the beginning of the season, playing against Union, playing against PSV and overcoming those two opponents to be in the Champions League.
‘It’s against my nature to say; “Guys, let’s not qualify for the Champions League next season. Let’s go for the Europa League — that’s better for us”.
‘It’s been a very good experience for my players to play at this level. You will learn a lot more from these games.
‘Every mistake you make in the Champions League, it’s a goal. Lose the ball — one, two, three passes — it’s in the goal.
‘It’s about fast thinking and making the right decisions in split seconds. The difference is a lot. That’s what we face against Ajax, Liverpool, Napoli.
‘We did really well against Napoli at home. Look at Ajax, they only have three points. If we win on Tuesday, we are even on points with Ajax.’