Kenny Miller has urged the Rangers board to back under-fire boss Gio van Bronckhorst like they did Steven Gerrard.
The Dutch gaffer is feeling the heat after back to back 4-0 defeats to Celtic in the Premiership and Ajax in the Champions League. Napoli are up next for the Light Blues on Tuesday after Sunday’s trip to Aberdeen was postponed. Former Rangers striker Miller admits van Bronckhorst is under pressure but has urged the club’s hierarchy to show patience.
After two years without a trophy previous manager Gerrard stayed in the job and delivered a title by stopping Celtic’s bid for 10-in-a-row. MailSport columnist Miller says van Bronckhorst deserves time to turn things around too. He said: “The Rangers board have to be calm now. The biggest positive about the whole Gerrard reign at Ibrox was stability and continuity.
“They stuck with him, despite the fact he didn’t win anything for two years. That patience and faith they showed in him led to 55.
“Gio has come in and in his first year won a Scottish Cup and reached a European final, so he deserves time. Of course, there has to be a drastic improvement in current performances.
“But as long as the board believe that he’s the right man for the job, he needs time and stability. He needs the chance to get a bigger tune out of these players.
“He has already shown he can by reaching the Europa League Final, when they competed with some huge clubs. There is ability, fight, desire and quality within this group. Gio and his staff have shown they can get that out of them. They coached them to some big results.”
But Miller, who had three separate spells at Ibrox, accepts that performances have to get better immediately. Rangers already trail Old Firm rivals Celtic by five points in the Premiership and Miller knows if their current form continues, his former team-mate’s position will come under serious scrutiny.
He said: “There’s something missing and that needs to be rectified quickly, otherwise Rangers could go through a potentially embarrassing Champions League campaign and the title might get away from them as well.
“There has to be a bit of calm at boardroom level. It’s been a really tough week and there has to be a big improvement. If things don’t change it will lead to mounting pressure on Gio.”
