Danny Rohl is convinced that the dawn of the New Year will bring brighter days for Rangers – as they seek to end 2025 without setting an unwanted record for losses in a calendar year.
Including the 90-minute home defeat to Fenerbahce in March and the extra-time reverse to Celtic in the League Cup semi-final at Hampden last month, the Ibrox outfit have lost 18 games in the past 12 months. That is just one shy of the record set throughout 1985.
Now 12 points adrift of Premiership leaders Hearts and with home games against Motherwell and St Mirren still to come this year, Rangers fans are hoping that no further points are dropped before the visit to Celtic Park on January 3.
While the American takeover in May simply hasn’t started the way fans hoped it would, head coach Rohl firmly believes that the New Year will finally see the club enjoy a change of fortunes.
‘I’m very positive because I have a good relationship with (chairman) Andrew (Cavenagh) and with the people around me,’ he said.
‘We have a clear idea of what we want to do and what we want to see in the future from our team, from Rangers. We have to do everything right. We have to improve parts.
Danny Rohl is convinced that Rangers’ fortunes will improve in the here and now
The German feels his message is now getting through to the Rangers players
‘It means the team, it means our direction of football that we want to see. We agree that we have a lot of work to do, but I’m very positive.
‘I was in the other morning and we had a talk about how we want it to go in the direction we want to see in the future.’
Rohl arrived at the club in the aftermath of Russell Martin’s disastrous tenure, which saw a £20million net summer spend lavished without the quality of the squad improving.
Former Sheffield Wednesday boss Rohl managed to take the team on an eight-game unbeaten run before going down to a costly defeat at Hearts last Sunday.
Asked if the club now feel more stable than at the point where he came in,’ he replied: ‘I think to be more stable it’s about results on the one side, it’s about performance and it’s about the direction we want to go in.
‘I feel that all these things go in the direction we want to see. I know as well that we want to drive quicker.
‘This is also part of our development, but I see at the moment the direction and that’s the most important key.’
Danny Rohl commiserates with his players after last weekend’s costly loss at Tynecastle
Rohl wants the club to bounce back from Hearts defeat with a winning sequence of games
Rohl has been linked with a loan move for former Rangers forward Josh Windass, with whom he worked at Sheffield Wednesday, as well as Westerlo left-back Tuur Rommens.
But the head coach is not averse to shopping closer to home if the right player is available.
‘I think we should not close our eyes to the Scottish market,’ he stressed. ‘I think we have players that have the experience here in this league. They know what it means to play against other teams. They know what it means also to play for Rangers, or against Rangers.
‘And, yeah, I’m totally open. For me, it’s not about the market, it’s really about in which position the players can help us.’
