Giovanni van Bronckhorst could be on the verge of a swift departure from Liverpool, just a year into his spell as assistant coach.
Feyenoord are reportedly positioning the former Rangers manager as their leading candidate for a senior technical director role.
The 51-year-old, who arrived at Anfield last summer as part of Arne Slot’s coaching reshuffle following John Heitinga’s exit, is now understood to be under serious consideration in Rotterdam as Feyenoord prepare for structural change behind the scenes.
According to reports in the Netherlands, current technical director Dennis te Kloese is expected to leave this summer.
Now Van Bronckhorst has emerged as the preferred successor.
Feyenoord’s recent instability at leadership level has already been acknowledged internally, with Dick Advocaat brought in as an advisor in March to support Robin van Persie until the end of the season.
Giovanni Van Bronckhorst as Rangers boss
Van Bronckhorst remains a defining figure in recent Rangers history.
He won two league titles and three cups as a player between 1998 and 2001.
Appointed in 2021 as Steven Gerrard’s successor, he delivered the Scottish Cup and guided the club to the 2022 Europa League final in Seville as manager.
However, he also became the first casualty in what has since become a revolving door of managerial appointments at Ibrox.
Giovanni Van Bronckhorst sets off managerial carousel
Reflecting on his departure, Van Bronckhorst later admitted the scale of the challenge and how quickly things unravelled.
“We had a very successful European run, but in the league, we dropped too many points. At Rangers, that is always decisive.”
His exit in November 2022 triggered a cycle of instability that has defined the club ever since with no subsequent manager completing a full season in charge.
Michael Beale
Michael Beale, Gerrard’s former assistant, succeeded Van Bronckhorst and initially delivered strong results, winning 31 of 43 matches and posting a 72%-win rate.
However, his inability to win key fixtures, particularly against Celtic, combined with an expensive and ultimately damaging recruitment strategy in the summer of 2023, proved decisive.
His tenure ended after 11 months. A brief but disastrous spell at Sunderland followed, lasting just two months before dismissal, and he has since returned to a supporting role alongside Gerrard at Al-Ettifaq.
He may follow the Liverpool legend to Burnley, where Gerrard has been tipped to replace Scott Parker, who was sacked earlier today.
He has however, spoken of his wish to remain as a manager in his own right.
“I have a burning desire to be a manager,” he admitted to Sky Sports.
“I’ve got a lot of ambition there. It’s important to remain confident, keep watching, keep learning, keep listening and keep growing.
“The right opportunity will come when it presents itself.”
Philippe Clement
Clement arrived in late 2023 and began strongly, winning 4–0 on his debut against Hibernian and lifting the League Cup before Christmas.
He initially stabilised Rangers’ title challenge, but inconsistency returned through 2024, with damaging defeats to Motherwell and Ross County amid more dropped points against Celtic and Dundee halting momentum.
The broader context also complicated his tenure, with ownership uncertainty and financial constraints impacting squad planning.
Clement later defended his position, arguing the project required time.
“It’s a pity that the story stopped, that the board didn’t have the patience, or maybe listened too much to some fans,” he said.
He also pointed to structural instability behind the scenes.
“The story was that the club was not financially sustainable anymore,” he explained.
“I think you need to go back a year.”
Now at Norwich City, appointed in November 2025, he has overseen a strong turnaround.
He turned the Canaries from relegation risks to late-season playoff contenders, with the early season damage meaning they fell just short.
“In all my time in football management, it has been one of the most amazing turnarounds,” he said of this season.
“The way the players and staff have reacted gives me a lot of ambition for the future.”
Barry Ferguson
Ferguson stepped in during another transitional phase, guiding Rangers through an inconsistent but eventful spell, including a win at Celtic Park and a Europa League quarter-final run.
Since returning to punditry following his exit in the summer he has remained vocal on the current Ibrox situation.
He spoke recently about Rangers’ damaging home defeat to Motherwell.
“You can’t keep making the same mistake and a couple of goals down because it’s going to come back and bite you at some stage,” he lamented.
“Unfortunately, it has done big time.”
Looking ahead, he also stressed urgency for Monday’s title deciding trip to Tynecastle.
“It’s win or bust,” he admitted.
“We have to go there and stamp our authority early doors and make sure Hearts are the team that gets nervous.”
Russell Martin
Appointed under the new American ownership, Russell Martin struggled to impose any sustained control.
He failed to win any of his first five league matches and recorded just five wins in 17 games in all competitions, a win rate of 29.4%, the lowest of any permanent Rangers manager ever.
Despite results, Martin consistently defended his players’ effort and internal belief after his final match, a 1-1 draw away to Falkirk.
He even admitted he expected to keep his job after that result.
“I believe I can [turn it around]. I believe I can,” he insisted.
“It wasn’t going to be easy. I knew it probably wasn’t going to be quick.
“We’re a club which patience is not a word that is used.
“I believed that at every club I’ve been at, and it’s led me to here now.
“So, I have to accept responsibility, and we have to try and learn and really grow through these moments”.
He was replaced by Danny Rohl in October.
The German immediately steadied performances and re-energised Rangers’ title challenge, despite Sunday’s defeat to the Steelmen.
He has recently been linked with a return to management with now relegated English Championship side Leicester City.
Rangers must break the cycle
From Van Bronckhorst to Martin, the pattern has become unmistakable: brief tenures, rapid resets, and constant reconstruction.
Just as Van Bronckhorst edges closer to a potential return to Feyenoord.
Rangers are again left confronting a persistent reality.
They are a club still searching not just for the right manager, but for continuity itself.
Rohl has turned around the club’s fortunes after the Martin debacle.
However, if the club do not win against Hearts on Monday, and Celtic on Sunday, fan contempt for Rohl will grow.
The new Ibrox ownership will need to be the calm amongst the storm moving forward.
Previous hierarchies caved to fan pressure, if Cavenagh and co believe Rohl will be the man to deliver success, even if it does not come this season, they will need to change the pattern we have seen year on year since Gerrard’s departure.
