Danny Rolle knew the Rangers job was for him when he took over as head coach in October.
On the field, he was taking over a team that was lacking confidence, sitting sixth in the league and falling out of title contention after just eight games in the eyes of many fans.
Things weren’t much better off the pitch.そうしたサポーターの中には、ロール氏の代わりに元監督スティーブン・ジェラード氏や元ディフェンダーのケビン・マスカット氏の起用を望んでいる人もいた。
At one stage, Rolle withdrew from the Rangers head coaching process, which also included Steven Gerrard.
Not only did the former Sheffield Wednesday manager need to appeal to his fan base, but he also needed to unite them following a series of protests against former head coach Russell Martin and members of the club’s board.
Fast forward three months, a change in the board, a rejuvenated squad, improved results and the club firmly back in title contention.
What is the current status of the title fight?
When Rohr arrived, Rangers were in sixth place with one win from eight games. They were eight points behind Celtic and 13 points behind leaders Hearts.
Celtic’s 4-0 win over Dundee United on Saturday means they are currently third in the Scottish Premiership. The Ibrox side are just three points behind Hearts, who have a game in hand, and are level with old rivals Celtic.
Rangers have picked up more points than any other club since Rolle took over and confidence is growing.
Within that 13-game period, Motherwell and Hibernian are closest to the Ibrox side in terms of points, with 25 and 23 points respectively compared to Rangers’ 32 points.
back to basics
Rolle was appointed in October following the sacking of Russell Martin.
Unlike his predecessors, Roll went back to basics and realized that winning was a must. Nothing matters more to the Rangers than that.
He may have a brand of football he wants to deliver, he may have areas of the team he wants to improve on, he may have players he would be happy to move on to.
But within the first few months, Rolle made it a priority to pick up points, increase confidence within the team and get the season back on track.
Since Rolle took over, the Rangers have risen from 6th to 2nd place.
You don’t have to look far for examples of players who have improved in recent months.
Under Martin, for example, Belgian international Nico Raskin’s Ibrox career was overhauled, Youssef Cermiti failed to score after his £8m move from Everton, Conor Barron has been in and out of the side, and Emmanuel Fernandes has featured twice since his £3m move from Peterborough.
Ruskin insists he is enjoying life at Rangers under Rolle
Since then, Ruskin has become a key man in midfield with some impressive performances, scoring his fourth goal of the season with an Old Firm brace for Cermitie, Baron won the Man of the Match award in a comfortable win over Aberdeen, and defender Fernandes played a key role at both ends of the pitch, scoring four league goals and keeping six clean sheets.
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Youssef Cermiti scores two goals within 10 minutes to give Rangers the lead at his old club.
In fact, almost every player on the team has grown under Roll. The results are not surprising either.
For the first few months, Rohr prioritized points over performance. He wanted to boost his confidence and add up points. It’s safe to say that the first part of his plan is coming together, but there’s a long way to go.
Set-pieces, great buttland and tactical fine-tuning
勝ちたいという願望を超えて、ロールはレンジャーズをチームに戻すためにどのように貢献したのでしょうか?そうですね、注目すべき点は 3 つあります。 Offensive changes, defensive displays, and everything in between.
From an attacking standpoint, Rangers are scoring more goals. In fact, they have scored the most points in the league since Rolle arrived.
Scott’s set piece
One of the factors is set pieces. Scott Fry’s appointment as set-piece coach may have gone unnoticed in November.
But Rangers have been able to emerge from dead ball situations since Fry, who scored 30 goals from set pieces last season, arrived from Lincoln City.
Rolle was involved in the appointment of Scott Fry (left) as Rangers’ set-piece coach.
Butland’s brilliance
On the other side of the park, Rangers are also conceding fewer goals. Truth be told, they don’t always look the most solid. But a combination of confidence, determination and Jack Butland’s brilliance was key to keeping the ball out of the net.
Tactical fine-tuning
Not everything was smooth sailing. There was a loss to Hearts, and some of the wins weren’t as simple as the scoreline would suggest. Take, for example, the first half of the Old Firm win on January 2nd.
Rangers were behind in the first 45 minutes, but fortunately they were only down 1-0 at the break.
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Rangers come from behind to beat Celtic in the Scottish Premiership
In that game, instead of pressing man-for-man, they moved away from the back five and switched to a 4-3-3. Rangers took control from the start of the second half and led 3-1 after 26 minutes.
Rohr admitted that his tactics in the first half did not work and took responsibility for it. He also deserves credit for making some tweaks and getting the Rangers back into title contention.
