What Can Rangers Fans Expect from the New Man at the Helm?
Blogs

What Can Rangers Fans Expect from the New Man at the Helm?

What Can Rangers Fans Expect from the New Man at the Helm?

It is no longer news that Danny Rohl has been announced as the new Rangers boss. After a managerial whacky race which saw more twists and turns with regard to potential candidates than a go-kart track, Rangers finalising an actual signature was arguably the least surprising aspect of the entire saga.

So what we are really here to discuss is how Danny Rohl plans to turn things around at Ibrox. The Gers’, after a calamitous start to the campaign under four-month man Russell Martin, sit sixth in the league with just one win in eight, and were humiliated in the Champions League qualifying stage by Belgian outfit Club Brugge, who walloped them 9-1 across two legs.

Rohl faces a daunting task: getting Rangers playing an identifiable style of football is one thing, but repairing their almost non-existent morale is quite another, and it surely won’t be a quick fix. So how well is the German equipped for the challenge? Can he put Rangers back where they belong? Or is he a high-risk gamble, capable of plunging the club into even greater depths than they already are?

Rohl-Ball

It is tricky to make direct comparisons between the players Rohl had at his disposal at Sheffield Wednesday compared to the ones waiting for him in Scotland - Wednesday are a club in crisis and fighting for survival in England’s second tier, while Rangers are (supposedly) an elite-level side expected to be challenging for the title season after season with age-old rivals Celtic.

As such, it is unlikely we will see Rohl implement many of the same tactics at Rangers that he did for the Owls - they are sides at completely different ends of the competitive spectrum.

However, with Sheffield Wednesday being his only senior management role, I’m afraid it is all we have to go off, so let’s give it a shot.

Rohl’s Owls rely heavily on their strength of character and never-say-die attitude - their relentless pressing, energetic running, and their rapid ability to capitalise on errors forced by their pressing were cornerstones of the German’s time in Sheffield.

No surprise here, as being German, and working as assistant coach to Hansi Flick’s German national side, it was only natural that Rohl would adopt his country’s preferred style of gegenpress, which is effectively a case of ‘run til you drop’.

At the back, Rohl tends to play with fairly conservative full-backs, preferring to reinforce his defensive line and let the midfielders and attackers take on the large bulk of the offensive work.

However, our Football Park scout has noticed that despite his flexible structure higher up the pitch, Rohl has no obvious defensive plan for his backline other than staying roughly in their segment of the pitch. Preferring hard-working defenders over a meticulous strategy, this is perhaps a part of his coaching game that he needs to work on.

When in possession, this backline plays a vital Rohl (get it?), as they feature heavily in the build-up play. Though sometimes Rohl can adjust and implement a direct style of play when the opportunity arises, his team typically prefers to build from the back, using side-to-side passing and clever midfield movement to open up gaps in the opposition.

We saw that this style certainly held promise last season - finishing 12th, Wednesday actually outscored six of the 11 sides above them with a tally of 60 goals, with only their inability to defend well regularly hurting their table position.

Rohl’s midfield set-up is often chopped and changed according to the opposition - across the last five games of the 2024/25 campaign, Rohl started four different formations, ranging from 4-4-1-1 to 3-4-2-1, illustrating his tactical versatility and willingness to take risks against superior opposition.

As a result, it is rare that a midfield pairing stays together for more than a couple of weeks, with changing lineups also requiring a change in personnel in order to fit the needs of the team for that game.

As a result, Rohl rarely relies on one single creator to orchestrate attacking moves, preferring an overall team effort to individual brilliance - Anthony Musaba topped the Owls' assist ranking last season, but his six set-ups were only good enough to rank him 31st in the overall league standings.

With Musaba being a wide player, this brings us nicely onto the role of wing players in Rohl’s system. Heavily reliant on these wingers for output due to his preference for defensive full backs, Rohl ensured he had a good mix of pacey, quick-thinking wingers and intelligent wide playmakers at the club in order to pose an attacking threat last season.

Musaba was one of them, notching 10 goal contributions across all competitions last season, while Callum Paterson (also 10), Djeidi Gassama (9) and Svante Ingelsson (6) all chipped in when required.

It is important to note that Rohl will be linking back up with Gassama at Rangers, with the Scots acquiring the Frenchman for £2.1 million in July as Wednesday looked to raise funds to keep their club afloat. His presence at Rohl’s new club will no doubt help his methods translate more smoothly to the team.

Back to the discussion - in the cases of Paterson and Ingelsson, both operated as less pacey but more visionary constructors from wide positions, preferring to invert and find a killer pass instead of beating their man and crossing from the byline. These two roles once again proved interchangeable throughout the season to fit the requirements enforced on them by their opponents, although it must be said that the German seems to prefer pacey wingers more often than not.

In between the two widemen, Rohl loves to operate with an advanced midfielder, which as often as not would be a striker masquerading as a creative force behind the actual number nine. Josh Windass, ironically a former Rangers man, occupied this role on a number of occasions last season, and despite constantly switching between this slightly deeper role and his preferred position of striker, he notched 13 goals and six assists, an impressive tally for a man who had no idea where he was going to play from one week to the next.

Ex-Southampton and Celtic midfielder Stuart Armstrong also played in this role in periods, but was found to be far less effective, with age and perhaps a lack of familiarity with a more offensive role his downfall.

That brings us to the man up top, which last season saw a trio fighting to make the position theirs. Windass typically got the nod, but Ike Ugbo and Michael Smith also proved effective up top, delivering nine goals on top of Windass’ 13.

While Windass stands at a modest 175cm, Ugbo and Smith are physical specimens up top, standing 185cm and 193cm, respectively, underlining Rohl’s preference for a big man capable of causing havoc up top.

However, what they are lacking is technical proficiency, and they were too often found guilty of failing to hold the ball up thanks to a loose touch or misjudgement - at Rangers, with far better players at his disposal, Rohl should be able to turn his attacking dream into a reality.

How Will His Style Translate at Rangers?

When casting an eye over the current squad on Rangers’ books, it seems Rohl has every tool he needs to turn them into Scotland’s deadliest weapon once again - but he must understand each player’s strengths and weaknesses, and not simply expect them to yield to his approach. There must be a compromise.

For example, right-back James Tavernier is most unlikely to subscribe to the role of defensive full-back; with a remarkable 135 Rangers goals to his name despite being classed as a defender, the Englishman is more often than not his side's primary creative force, and keeping him back to help the defence will hinder more than it would help.

In fact, the entire backline at Rangers operates at a far superior level to those at Sheffield Wednesday, containing the likes of Max Aarons, John Souttar and Derek Cornelius, all of whom are well travelled around England, Scotland and beyond.

As such, they will require specific instruction in order to fill their role as effectively as possible. No more loose instruction and genuine freedom in defence - Rohl must have a clear defensive game plan if he is to stamp his mark on this Rangers side.

In midfield, it is much the same story - brimming with talent, including Nicolas Raskin, Joe Rothwell and exciting youngster Lyall Cameron, they bring top-flight talent to the table. However, unlike in defence, they won’t mind Rohl’s flexible midfield rotation - the more roles they can get a handle on, the better they will be because of it.

We have already mentioned how Rohl will be joining back up with Gassama, but there are plenty of other talented wide options waiting for him in Finnish talent Oliver Antman, exciting Tottenham prospect Mikey Moore, and Keiran Dowell, who offer a wide variety of strengths and traits from the flanks.

Up front, Rohl has a plethora of options to choose from, although it is clear that the first choice out-and-out striker will be Bojan Miovski. Notching a remarkable 26-goal season with Aberdeen back in 2023/24, Miovski has an excellent history in this league, and despite having gone off the boil for the last year or so, there is no doubt that the 26-year-old could be a serious striker for Rangers.

Blessed with a 189cm frame but also technically excellent, he is the exact profile Rohl will want leading the line, and if he can just find his shooting boots again, Rangers will be on track to return to the upper echelons of Scottish football.

So there we have it - though he is a man of limited managerial knowledge, Rohl knows what he wants, and he certainly has the facilities at Rangers to get just that. However, bringing an identical template from Sheffield to Glasgow will not work. He must tinker, adapt and adjust in order to create the perfect tactic to bring Ranger’s back.

He is still a young manager, and learning is all part of expanding the repertoire and moving ever closer to success. However, the Rangers job has always had a steep learning curve attached to it, and we will find out quickly whether Rohl will sink or swim.

Benji Kosartiyer
Journalist

Harry Pascoe

Lead Writer

You May Also Like
See more
Can Aberdeen Win The Scottish Premiership?

Can Aberdeen Win The Scottish Premiership?

Videos
See more
Argentina's Massive Talent Pool | Off The Bar Podcast Episode 4 ft. Nacho Z
Seb & Colin Welcomes their first guest ‪@soynachoz‬ where they chat all things South American Football | Off the Bar Podcast Episod
Gyokeres Already a Failure? | Off The Bar Podcast Episode 3
Is Gyokeres already a flop? 🤔 VAR in the Championship & the West Ham Situation | Off The Bar with Colin & Seb Episode 3
Olise to win the next Ballon D'or | Off The Bar Podcast Episode 2
Did Dembele Deserve the Ballon D'or? 🏆 Olise the next winner? & players mental health! | Off The Bar with Colin & Seb Episode 2
Latest In Blogs
See more
Data Meets the Highlands: How Tony Bloom Is Revolutionising Scottish Football

Data Meets the Highlands: How Tony Bloom Is Revolutionising Scottish Football

SPFL Blog

The Ghanaian International Who is Quietly Becoming One of the EFL's Most Dangerous Attackers

The Ghanaian International Who is Quietly Becoming One of the EFL's Most Dangerous Attackers

EFL Championship Blog

Everyone Said They'd Won the Window: How This Club's ‘Best Summer Ever’ Has Turned Into a Nightmare

Everyone Said They'd Won the Window: How This Club's ‘Best Summer Ever’ Has Turned Into a Nightmare

PL Blog

Join our newsletter

Become a part of our community and never miss an update from Football Park.