Big-money sales led to Rangers sacking Gio, says No.2 Vos
Former Ibrox assistant on ‘too early’ departure, Bassey and road to Seville
DAVE VOS joined a jubilant Giovanni van Bronckhorst on the pitch at Philips Stadium, having helped mastermind a two-legged win over Dutch giants PSV and author another magical European journey.
Privately, however, the former Rangers assistant and his boss knew this could also be a blessing in disguise depending on circumstances. The squad they’d taken to Seville and past PSV in that 2021 Champions League qualifying playoff was not yet ready to compete at the elite level of European football while fighting on multiple fronts domestically. No further transfer additions were made following the 1-0 win in Eindhoven and a painful group stage was on the horizon.
“I think if the recruitment was a bit better to bring in some players we thought were a direct possibility to sign, it would have increased our chance to be successful in the way we wanted to play,” Vos says.
“If you ask me honestly, I don’t think we would have played that differently in the Champions League. Napoli were champions of Italy that year, Liverpool were Liverpool and Ajax had won six out of six in the Champions League group stage the season before. Rangers as a football club weren’t ready to play first or second place in the Champions League group. But we were building towards that and I think with time, if we had a year longer, we could’ve developed in that direction.”
The start made by Van Bronckhorst kept Rangers firmly at the top of the Scottish Premiership heading into the winter break with eight wins from eight. Even if there were growing pains as a change in playing style ensued.
“It was a great group of players, but it isn’t your own group. Of course, because of [Steven] Gerrard and everything that happened there, it was the players he chose. We needed to work with everybody who was there,” Vos continues.
“You felt a connection from players and staff and support staff directly. The integration was really fast and we won the first eight or nine games in a row.
“That helps the process of how you want to play but we had our own details that were different from the former coaching staff. I remember that we were due to play the Old Firm on the 29 December [before the winter break was brought forward].
“For us, in that moment we had a real flow and Celtic didn’t. There was a gap of five points or so. When I look back if we had played that game against Celtic in December we were in a much better position because of how many points we could’ve gone ahead.”
Although Rangers lost hold of the league title in season 2021/22, they so nearly grasped a trophy of far greater value. The Europa League trophy was penalties away from returning to Ibrox as a run masterminded by Van Bronckhorst and Vos allowed Ibrox to dream over an intoxicating threemonth spell.
Rangers saw off Borussia Dortmund, RB Leipzig, Braga and Red Star Belgrade to set up a final with Eintracht Frankfurt in Seville. With their aggressive approach borne out of a 3-0 Old Firm defeat soon after the winter break. Attempts to explain the magic often fall short, but the simplicity of Vos’s sentence captures the essence.
“Ibrox? You cannot explain everything that happened [on those nights] to somebody who was not there. I told my friends you have to come over. I can tell you about it, but you need to feel it,” he says.
Ibrox? You cannot explain everything that happened [on those nights] to somebody who was not there. I told my friends you have to come over. I can tell you about it, but you need to feel it
“One of the most important parts [of the European run] came after the first Old Firm we lost. We were too ‘in the middle’ of the pitch and not pressing opponents all over the pitch. From that moment we made a decision together – we will press the opponent all the way.
“When we played Dortmund away, you can make two decisions. You can drop into a block and counter attack but we made a decision together, and from Gio it was a really brave one, to just press the opposition high.”
The most memorable night of all came against RB Leipzig as a 3-1 win sent Van Bronckhorst’s side to Seville. The game came two days on from the shock passing of Jimmy Bell, Rangers’ legendary kitman and club figure. In an emotionally charged stadium goals from James Tavernier, Glen Kamara and John Lundstram sealed a piece of history.
“During the whole run we knew in every game if we could come back with a result to Ibrox then anything is possible,” Vos adds.
“I still have goosebumps from Leipzig. It was one of the most unbelievable experiences I’ve ever had on the pitch. Everyone felt we needed to do it for him and Jimmy’s family. It was an unbelievable experience. I still get all the clips in my head. Ibrox was bouncing.”
That rearranged 3-0 Old Firm defeat, which followed dropped points against Aberdeen and Ross County in the early weeks of 2022, would ultimately cost Rangers the
title. Something they still, two years on, have been unable to regain. The gap inherited from Gerrard at the top of the Scottish Premiership would begin to evaporate.
Rangers still ended the 2021/22 campaign with a Scottish Cup triumph and an impressive win in the Old Firm semi-final at Hampden, following two significant defeats against Ange Postecoglou’s side in the league. When they saw off PSV over two legs to achieve another minor miracle on the continent the optimism carried into the 2022/23 season, despite surrendering the league title, appeared vindicated. But then, in the space of a week at the start of September, Rangers lost 4-0 to Ajax and Celtic. It was a four-day period Van Bronckhorst would never recover from and for many watching from the outside, the byproduct of a summer transfer window that failed to take Rangers forward.
“I think you are right,” Vos says when asked if he felt more could’ve been done in the summer window to strengthen the squad – especially after Champions League football was secured.
“The next season for me, the outcome of the transfer window wasn’t what we had hoped for. If we had won in Seville we’d have gone directly into the Champions League group stage as a pot one team. That would’ve meant something for the group but also in terms of getting new players in.
“Now we had to deal with the Champions League. We had a big run to reach the group stage. Everyone knew that USG were really good and PSV are a really strong opponent. The fact that we managed to get into the group stage was unbelievable. At that moment Gio and I said together ‘Ok, this could be something great to play in the Champions League’ – but in the end, we struggled.
“If you looked at the financial situation of the club, the whole squad was bought for around £18m – we played the Champions League and Europa League final with that squad.”
Calvin Bassey, who Van Bronckhorst inherited as a back-up left-back, was sold to Ajax for north of £20m in the summer of 2022 following his meteoric rise as a centre-back in that Europa League campaign. Joe Aribo, who scored in the final, also departed for Southampton. Vos holds those two players as key examples of figures who weren’t replaced in time for that tumultuous start to the season, both in terms of quality and durability.
“Calvin [Bassey] played a massive part in everything we did,” he emphasises. “If you want to press up high all over the pitch like we did, Calvin had a central role. It was only possible to play like we did because of him.
“We wanted Ian Maatsen really badly who is now in the Champions League final with Dortmund. We wanted a couple of those players who you know can fit into the style of football you want to play.
“Overall our squad lacked depth and struggled with injuries. I think Leon King was a great talent with real potential. But in a season of 60 games, at his age, you’d expect Leon to maybe play 20 games alongside somebody with experience to develop him. We were relying too heavily on Leon [due to injuries] and that was unfair on him.”
VOS’S tone is tinged with no malice but simply regret. As aforementioned Rangers’ Champions League group was unforgiving, their injury list seismic and schedule relentless. The former assistant insists that the team still intended to approach games in the same manner as the season before during all those memorable European victories but lacked the athleticism and depth to do so. No game epitomised his point like the 7-1 defeat at home to Liverpool. Rangers took the lead and started the game well but after losing Connor Goldson to a costly injury, things quite literally fell apart. That was a microcosm of the start of the season.
“Normally if you play in the Champions League you have a week off between games but because of the World Cup our games were every midweek,” he explains.
“Players like Connor were used to playing 60 games. Joe Aribo had played in something like 66 matches the season before. When players like Joe and Calvin left us it was really important to get new players in. Tom Lawrence’s injury was really, really significant for us in that sense.
“We saw the intensity and quality of the Champions League was too early for the team we had. We still wanted to do the same things and I think at Ibrox we played really well against Napoli, the first half against Liverpool was unbelievable. In parts of the game we did really well but if you see the level of the opponent it is these small details that are so important.”
Domestically, Van Bronckhorst’s football was never able to energise and excite like a Thursday night. How was it that in the same fortnight, Rangers defeated Borussia Dortmund 6-4 on aggregate they also dropped points against Motherwell and Dundee United?
“There is a big difference domestically playing every time against a low block,” Vos reasons.
“We missed Tom [Lawrence]. The games against PSV we had [Malik] Tillman and Tom at No.10 and width coming from the wingers. The squad missed creativity on the right-wing to defeat a low block too.
“We struggled domestically in small spaces. If you play in Europe or against bigger teams, they want to play as well. The game’s intensity suited us but domestically when everyone was dropping down playing for set-pieces, counter attacks… we struggled with that.
“Given the results, pressure came on the board. I still felt really connected, at that time the connection was still there with the players. Unfortunately, they made a decision and still, I think it was way too early. If you look at the results we didn’t do well in the Champions League but all those things were connected [to injuries and the summer window]. It was a privilege to be at Rangers and be part of the journey. Ibrox is something unbelievable. For me [the decision to sack Van Bronckhorst] felt too early.”