GIOVANNI van Bronckhorst tonight admitted it will be “end of story” for him as Rangers manager unless he halts his side’s dire run of form following a costly 1-1 draw with Livingston at Ibrox.
But Van Bronckhorst expressed confidence that his players, who were booed off the park for the second time in four days after falling four points behind Celtic at the top of the cinch Premiership, remain firmly behind him.
The Dutchman’s team salvaged a point against opponents who were reduced to 10 men when Morgan Boyes was sent off in the second-half thanks to an injury-time John Lundstram goal - but he conceded their display had not been acceptable.
“What can I say?” he said. “I am trying my best. As a manager, you have to stick with your beliefs, with your way of playing, and sometimes it is not going the right way.
“When you are not performing as a coach, as a team, when you are not getting your results then of course people will not buy into it. That is not just for me that is for every coach in this profession. You see if it is not going well then eventually it is end of story. That is for everyone.
“But I think we can still turn it around. I believe my players are still behind me and working hard to overturn this moment. I have the belief they believe me. I have to believe that we can still play the way that we can play.”
Van Bronckhorst added: “I’m not happy with our performance. I’m not happy with the way we started. Normally we start on the front foot at home, but today was the opposite.
“How we conceded the goal is impossible, in my opinion, but it happened. Overall we didn’t create enough chances.
“I don’t know the reasons for the performance. If we know all the answers we would play every game fantastic. But that’s not the case.
“It’s a difficult moment for us. We need to keep working hard. Obviously we’re not playing the way we can as a team. The players are not performing as they can. If you combine that and lose a goal really early then the confidence goes really low. That affected things throughout the game.”
Asked about the supporters’ reaction at the final whistle, Van Bronchorst said: “It’s understandable that they show their frustration. They want their team to be successful, playing well and get points in Europe. It’s what is expected when you’re a Rangers manager or player. And when that’s not happening you will get criticised.
“We need to take that as it’s their voice and the fans are so important for every club. We need to make sure we give them the moments to be positive. In the last couple of games we didn’t do that. I said it many times. I understand them and we will work hard to overturn it.”
Van Bronckhorst, whose side play Napoli in Italy the Champions League on Wednesday, revealed that Leon King came off at half-time because he was feeling sick and Rabbi Matondo was replaced in the second-half because he suffered a back injury.
