- First words from Danny Rohl after Tavernier’s announcement
- Manager focused on ensuring captain gets the best send-off
- Rohl refused to answer on whether he wanted defender to stay
Rangers manager Danny Rohl has spoke out after the news that captain James Tavernier will leave the club at the end of the season.
It is the first words we have heard from the manager after Tavernier announced his departure on Wednesday.
Rohl joined others in publicly paying tribute by referring to the 34-year-old as a “legend” for his decade-long service while reiterating that the focus is on the final five matches of the season.
Rohl vows to find a way to celebrate Tavernier and dodges whether he wanted captain to stay
The manager was asked about whether a testimonial would be a fitting way to celebrate Tavernier’s service to the club.
Rohl said that “hopefully, we will find a great way, big players should have big goodbyes and that would be winning the title.”
The German also stated that “it is not a topic for today” on whether he would have liked the captain to sign a new contract.
Those comments highlights how Rohl’s aim is on ensuring that the club finish the season with silverware and that is the best way to celebrate the outgoing captain.
Manager stresses the focus is on final five matches amid captain’s looming departure
Rohl was also clear that the “most important thing is that it is 21 days to go, five games, focus on those five games.
He also added: “Our focus is to get through the remainder of the season and for him to have the send-off he deserves.”
This reiterates that the focus is on finishing the season strongly and that the club are not using Tavernier’s departure as a distraction from their main objective.
Having said that, Rohl has hinted there is an even stronger collective mindset amongst the group that they want to ensure Rangers’ sixth longest-serving captain ends his tenure with a trophy.
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Tavernier’s departure is the biggest news to come out of Ibrox this week and will undoubtedly be a massive talking points in the weeks to come.
But as much as Rohl referred to the captain’s upcoming departure he weaved it into the narrative that Rangers’ focus is on the remaining five cup finals.
And that means that despite this week’s huge announcement, at Auchenhowie Training Centre, nothing has changed.
