The 36-year-old German inherits a side 13 points off the pace in the Premiership and winless in Europe
LONDON:
New Rangers boss Danny Rohl said on Tuesday only by winning games can he gain the confidence of supporters underwhelmed by the German’s appointment.
Rohl, 36, has only previously managed Sheffield Wednesday but enjoyed spells as a backroom coach at Bayern Munich and the German national team under Barcelona boss Hansi Flick.
The Rangers hierarchy have been heavily criticised by the club’s support for a chaotic recruitment process to find the successor to Russell Martin.
Martin was sacked on October 5 after just 123 days in charge.
Talks with former Rangers manager Steven Gerrard and Shaghai Port coach Kevin Muscat broke down without an agreement, leaving the club’s under-19s coach Steven Smith to take charge of Saturday’s 2-2 draw against Dundee United.
“You can be the first, the second or the third choice, what’s important is that you win the next games and then you have to go forward,” Rohl told reporters at his unveiling.
“The first step is, and this is the huge one, we need wins in a row. This is very important, because with wins in a row you can create self-confidence.”
Rohl takes over a team that has only won five of their 18 games this season.
Rangers sit 13 points behind surprise Scottish Premiership leaders Hearts and eight adrift of fierce rivals Celtic.
The Ibrox side are also yet to win a point in the Europa League after two games ahead of Rohl’s first match in charge at Brann in Norway on Thursday.
Yet, he said there is huge potential in a squad that has won just one of eight league games so far this season.
“I see so much potential. If you can bring the squad together with your style of football, with the things you demand, then you will go in a fantastic direction,” added Rohl.
Rangers chief executive Patrick Stewart and sporting director Kevin Thelwell have been the target for angry fans at the failed hire of Martin and an expensive squad overhaul in the transfer market that is yet to reap any reward.
However, the former Manchester United executive defended the process that led to Rohl’s appointment.
“I can understand that on the outside it might look as though the process has gone awry, but all we can look at is the outcome of the process,” said Stewart.
“We had discussions with a number of very credible candidates and we got one of those over the line.”
