Giovanni Van Bronckhorst’s In Tray: 4 Issues That Have To Be Solved By The New Rangers Manager

It was an abject performance against Hibernian in the League Cup yesterday evening, and new Rangers manager Giovanni van Bronckhorst may well be regretting not taking up his position earlier.

The defending in the first half was pretty atrocious and it wasn’t a one-off. A performance like that had been coming and it means Gio now has to ensure that a change in mentality happens ASAP.

You’d have thought that impressing their new head coach would give these Rangers stars a reason to perform well, and yet, it looked like they were playing in a friendly, not in a cup semi-final.

Press the next page as we go through four key problems that van Bronckhorst needs to solve quickly.

1) Connor Goldson’s Future And Overall Defensive Woes

Goldson has been pretty terrible this season, and there is no doubt that his contract situation is having an adverse effect on his performances. Gio needs to ask him to put pen to paper on a new deal or ship him out in January.

If you have someone who isn’t completely committed to the cause in the heart of your defence, it spreads through the rest of the team. Fixing this issue will be vital to improving things at the back.

2) Getting The Best Out Of Alfredo Morelos

The Athletic journalist Jordan Campbell labelled Morelos’s performance against Hibs as “possibly his worst game for Rangers” and most supporters would not be arguing with that assessment.

Morelos is so far away from being the “El Bufalo” that we know. Van Bronckhorst will have to decide whether to take him out of the firing line or whether he can inspire him to regain his top form.

3) Finding More Inventive Ways To Attack Opponents

Crossing the ball into the box from every conceivable angle and position is not a plan of attack. Gio has to add another dimension to get this team firing on all cylinders once again.

His Feyenoord team were renowned for their expansive style of play and it will be hoped that he can implement his game plan as quickly as possible on the training pitches at Auchenhowie.

4) Getting Back The Hunger

Goldson freely admitted after the defeat yesterday that he feels the players may have lost some of their hunger after winning the league last season. That was evident by their lack of desire to impress their new manager at Hampden Park.

Van Bronckhorst will, therefore, have a job on his hands changing the mentality. He can’t afford to have regular starters who are not prepared to fight for the cause, so we shall see how that affects his team selections.

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