Rangers have left critics stunned as you witnessed them climb to second place in the Premiership with a comfortable 2-0 win over Aberdeen at Ibrox, thanks to first‑half strikes from Manny Fernandez and Nicolas Raskin. You’ll feel the momentum – they’re now just three points behind leaders Hearts, and the atmosphere around the club has shifted sharply in your favour.
Danny Rohl has taken charge of a recovery that you might not have seen coming after he inherited a mess from Russell Martin. His record of ten wins and two draws in 13 league matches tells you everything about the turnaround. As Rohl put it: ‘I think at first it’s important to say it’s not just me personally. I have a fantastic coaching team, it’s not a one-man show, we’re doing this together with the club, with my players, with the coaches, with the staff behind the coaches. ‘We’re growing together. We are in a fantastic way, I think we surprised a lot of people since I’m here. ‘But, for me, it’s about the next game. I’m hungry, I’m ambitious, I know what it means and which effort we need until the end of the season and this is to do a lot more.’
You’ll have noticed he’s not complacent about the January window. Rangers are linked with Silas Andersen, the Danish youth international currently at BK Hacken, and Rohl was candid: ‘Yeah, we are in the process, we work on this,’ he said. ‘The last two days after the big win, the players who were on the bench, they are on the front foot. ‘They want to be part of the train at the moment and you have to be on the front foot, otherwise we leave the train station without some players, and this is tough. ‘We need the challenge, we need a strong squad. This is also important for me, when we make subs we have to be better, that we get impacts.’
Your take on the performance will be that Rohl’s side played some crisp football at times and showed a calmness you expect from promotion-chasing outfits. Rohl said: ‘They played some good football for some minutes, in some parts we had some easy ball-losing situations, but all in all, I’m very proud of the group at the moment. ‘After the game at the weekend, you never know, it’s always difficult to play three days later again, but we delivered again, and the next three points help us. ‘You should not forget, you play against a team, you never know what comes when they change the manager.’
From the other dugout, Peter Leven rued missed chances and told you his side gave a response but lacked finishing: ‘I’m disappointed to lose the goals that we lost. ‘But the boys reacted the way I wanted. The pressing was good, the intensity, the fight was there. ‘At times when we do play, we look like a good team. I thought we had enough chances to take something from the game. ‘We had clearer chances (to score goals ourselves). You need to take those opportunities. Just add a little bit of end product, a little bit of composure.’
So, if you follow Rangers, this feels like a season where belief is returning – and you’re watching a side that could mount a proper title challenge if the squad is strengthened and the form keeps coming.
