Gio looks more and more like a real Rangers boss... and needs backed with transfer cash after sorting out Morelos
THIS feels like Giovanni van Bronckhorst finally, thankfully, showing himself in his entirety. Showing that he now feels comfortable enough to take full ownership of the Rangers manager’s job and shape the club in his image.
Showing increasing flashes of his real self and offering himself as a personality — rather than just a coach — that the Ibrox fanbase can identify with and rally behind.
And in this past week, in particular, showing that his Rangers will not tolerate the nonsense, selfishness and idiocy that clearly still comes with Alfredo Morelos in the way that too many previous regimes have.
Now, in this week to come, in the four days before the closure of the transfer window, Van Bronckhorst needs to build on the good work done over the summer and make it clear to the board that more money must be delivered for further recruits to ensure his squad is adequately tooled-up for competing on four fronts.
Back in January, there was a distinct sense the Dutchman didn’t demand anywhere near enough from his directors. Two ludicrous loan deals for Amad Diallo and Aaron Ramsey and a temporary arrangement for James Sands were never going to be anywhere close to enough.
It wasn’t long before he came under fire, falling behind Celtic in the Premiership having inherited a lead at the top of the table.
Of course, making a European final against all odds proved the salve for everything, but Rangers did come up short in terms of numbers in the end. They couldn’t quite handle everything the fixture list threw at them.
They have invested well this time round, though. Their signings have the potential to come good — when all of them can get fit. However, they pulled in £30million from the sales of Calvin Bassey and Joe Aribo and have another £30m-plus on the way from the Champions League.
Van Bronckhorst (right) deserves a greater share of that.
He could do with another wide man and someone dependable to take the heat off James Tavernier at right-back. Maybe even another keeper — although hats off to Jon McLaughlin for standing tall in that midweek win over PSV and serving up exactly the kind of performance required to prove he really does have the minerals to be the No1 going forward.
Whatever, given the madness of the calendar thanks to this joke of a World Cup in Qatar in the winter, extra manpower will be welcome and essential. Just look at the squad Ange Postecoglou is building over at Celtic. With the arrival of Sead Haksabanovic, he now has more wing men than George Clooney in Ocean’s Eleven.
You sense, though, that Van Bronckhorst is making his mark on the club now. That he’s really finding his voice and not just with regard to singing ‘Sweet Caroline’ in the dressing-room in Eindhoven — although that footage cannot be underestimated in its impact.
Van Bronckhorst, when head coach at Feyenoord, admitted he made a point of keeping things lowkey in his public statements. He didn’t want to scare the horses. In truth, that’s the kind of guy he is.
With Champions League, La Liga, EPL and FA Cup honours and 106 caps for the Netherlands under his belt, he could easily give it the big ‘I Am’. He doesn’t. His default position is just to get on quietly with the job.
That doesn’t necessarily work in an environment as febrile, fanatical and knee-jerk as Glasgow. For too long last season, his media calls were as dull as ditchwater. Those electrifying European nights saved him from greater discomfort — because, until then, his reign was struggling to create a spark.
It feels different now. He has built on the progress made by Steven Gerrard and created a more forward-facing club that has real aspirations in Europe. He has shown himself to be more tactically flexible in real big-match situations. The singing behind-the-scenes, even the jubilant touchline huddle with his backroom staff at time-up in the Philips Stadion on Wednesday, showed us more of the man behind the mask.
He spoke well before and after the match about his own European experiences, his hopes and demands for Rangers. He even had a proper go at PSV over their pre-match security arrangements on the pitch before kick-off.
This stuff matters. It shows he is prepared to stand up for the club, engage, share himself, bear the weight of being a figurehead.
More importantly, though, the stance taken on Morelos has made it crystal clear that no one will be permitted to think they are more important than the collective.
Dreadful work in the transfer market over a long period left Rangers way too reliant on the Colombian for too long. Pedro Caixinha and Gerrard were guilty of excusing his waywardness. It just stored up too many problems.
Morelos did seem to have cleaned up his act under Van Bronckhorst — until injury struck late last season and, having returned clearly out of shape, he went back to his moronic old ways in last Saturday’s 2-2 draw at Hibs when getting sent off for swinging an arm and seeing his side reduced to nine men.
The way Van Bronckhorst has dealt with the issue since has been textbook — and long overdue. A committed Morelos staying at Rangers on a new deal is the best option for the club. The manager has left that option open ahead of today’s talks.
The time to sell the 26-year-old was two years ago when Lille offered £16m. What are they realistically going to get for him at the current moment with his contract in its last year and carrying a fair bit of timber to go with the sawdust inside his noggin?
What is telling, though, is that by axing Morelos ahead of Eindhoven, Van Bronckhorst made it clear he and the club don’t need him the way they did. Antonio Colak is a perfectly capable No 9.
Morelos is on the backfoot now and the dynamics have changed. There is no escape for him now, no hiding behind interpreters and agents. No scope for mixed messages.
Van Bronckhorst speaks Spanish. His assistant Roy Makaay spent six years in La Liga with Tenerife and Deportivo La Coruna. Be sure, nothing will be lost in translation any longer.
Morelos now has to account for himself. Properly. He will have to show explicitly that he means what he says in the vacuous rubbish he sticks on social media about ‘my team’ and how the greatest warrior is the one who pecks at the seagulls as they follow the trawler — or some guff like that.
It is disappointing to see Morelos return to all this. Whether he is sold before Thursday or not remains to be seen, but it doesn’t have to happen and it makes more sense to get him back on board and try to retain some real monetary value in him as an asset.
It appears Van Bronckhorst is open to that outcome. Yet, whatever transpires, the 47-year-old still needs to be forceful in his other discussions with his board and his sporting director Ross Wilson.
He is making strong inroads in putting his stamp on the club, but he needs to do more. From seeking buy-in from indisciplined players to demanding investment in the market, this is a perfect time to leave no doubts at all over who really is boss.