Just over six months after he was appointed at Ibrox, is Danny Rohl already on the proverbial shoogly peg?
The German revived Rangers and led them back into the title race after the calamitous tenure of Russell Martin, but his team have collapsed at the business end of the season.
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Losses in both post-split games so far – at home to Motherwell and away to leaders Hearts – have effectively consigned Rangers to a second trophyless season on the bounce and turned up the heat on Rohl.
While some supporters will remain fully behind the 37-year-old, he may fall victim to the “dripping tap of negativity” that comes with life as an Old Firm manager.
“I think there’s a stick or twist scenario for Rangers if this season pans out the way it’s beginning to look at the moment,” said Stephen McGowan, football writer with The Herald, on the BBC’s Scottish Football Podcast.
“Ultimately, the Rangers manager is judged by how many trophies he wins and on that score, it looks like Danny Rohl is going to fall short.
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“In a rational football environment, probably he wouldn’t come under anything like this amount of pressure, but this is not a rational environment, it’s Glasgow.
“He did do exceptionally well to get him back in the race, but there are big questions over Danny Rohl now, these are dangerous times for him.”
Rangers led 1-0 at Tynecastle on Monday night but one of the main talking points post-match was Rohl’s inability to cope with Derek McInnes’ tactical tweaks.
McGowan added: “I think there have been questions from supporters over his starting XI, over his ability to change things when tactics start to go against him.
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“So, regardless of whether he deserves it or not, I think whenever a manager loses the faith in the support of supporters, at clubs like Celtic and Rangers, it’s really hard to turn off the negative dripping tap, and I think that’s where Danny Rohl is now.”
Former Hearts manager Robbie Neilson reckons Rohl will remain in situ until the start of next season, but he will be immediately under fire should he fail to start fast.
“I think they’ve got to give him time and a bit of support, and also better recruitment over the course of the summer,” Neilson said.
“I would be very surprised if he’s not there come the start of the season, how long he gets will be dictated by the results at start of the season.”
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