Given the manner in which things unravelled so badly towards the end of last season, Danny Rohl’s card was marked in the eyes of most Rangers supporters.
He had a terrific opportunity to win a league title, was backed with significant investment in the January transfer window, and ended up finishing third.
A very distant third, too. There is no way that can be dressed up as anything other than failure. He blew it, plain and simple.
Rohl also showed his inexperience and lack of basic man-management skills with the way he handled James Tavernier’s exit from the club.
The final few weeks of the season turned into a total bin-fire — and there was a sizeable section of the Rangers support that felt he should not be allowed to continue as manager beyond the summer.
Or, at the very least, that he would be starting next season on borrowed time. That yet another mid-season sacking was merely an inevitability.
Rangers chairman Andrew Cavenagh welcomes Danny Rohl to Ibrox after axing Russell Martin
A few weeks ago, shortly after the season had finished, Rangers chairman Andrew Cavenagh nailed his colours to the Rohl mast and gave the young German his full backing.
Cavenagh spoke about the progress that had been made since Rohl took charge last October and about his belief that he could lead the club to the league title next season.
Given the pressure that had built, with Rohl’s team collapsing after the split and losing four of their five matches, Cavenagh had to come out and explain the rationale for sticking with the under-fire manager.
What he probably couldn’t have accounted for at that point was the prospect of another club coming in and taking Rohl off his hands.
Make no mistake, Red Bull Salzburg have done Rangers a huge favour here. Cavenagh probably can’t believe his luck. The Austrians have relieved the Ibrox club of a manager who simply was not up to the task.
In a way, it’s actually a good outcome for all parties. Rohl moves on to a decent job and back into the Red Bull coaching system where he learned his trade.
If he makes a success of it, you can bet your bottom dollar that he will then be moved on to RB Leipzig before too long. Good luck to him.
Rohl had started well at Rangers but four defeats out of five after the split saw fans turn on him
In his dealings with the press, he always came across as a decent man. Only once did he ever really lose his rag and snap at a question, and it happened to be one asked by this correspondent.
After Rangers had come back from a training camp in Spain and lost 3-2 to Motherwell at Ibrox in their first post-split fixture, Daily Mail Sport asked Rohl whether he expected more in terms of the performance level.
That had been the first time all season that he had been able to spend quality time on the training pitch with his players, yet Rangers’ performance was dreadful.
Rohl clearly didn’t like the line of inquiry. But the fact Rangers then went on to lose four straight games after that training camp in Spain, well… no further questions, m’lud.
Listen, Rohl could go on to enjoy a fine career in management. But, by sticking with him, Cavenagh and Rangers were on to plums.
At this stage of his career, in what was only his second job in management, Rangers was too big for him. Towards the end of the season, it became increasingly clear that he was out of his depth.
Where this leaves Cavenagh is a different question. He arrived at Rangers just over a year ago when the Americans completed their takeover.
Derek McInnes will now be unveiled as Rangers’ new manager in the coming days
They have since spent close to £40million on new players, failed to win any trophies, and are now on the hunt for their third manager in the space of 12 months.
It doesn’t look like that search will need to go very far. After the Russell Martin debacle, and Rohl then blowing a chance to win the title, Cavenagh has gone for the safe and sensible choice in Derek McInnes.
A man who knows the league and the club inside out, as well as having a proven track record, McInnes ticks a lot of the boxes Rangers need.
As a club, they have exhausted all avenues; they’ve gone British, they’ve gone foreign, they’ve gone with a manager, they’ve gone with a coach.
None of it has ever really worked in terms of bringing sustained long-term success. The only option Rangers failed to explore was the one staring them in the face for the last 10 years.
There can be no higher praise for McInnes than the fact that Walter Smith once openly endorsed him for the job.
Whether or not it could or should have happened years ago doesn’t really matter. The point is that it’s happening now.
Coming off the most thrilling yet heartbreaking season of his career, McInnes will now land the biggest job of his life.
As for Hearts, the fact they have lost their manager and star striker to Rangers in the space of a couple of weeks will be a bitter pill to swallow.
Cavenagh has been in the US talking over the deal for McInnes… one that must work for him
It’s a huge summer ahead for Jamestown Analytics. But if Brighton and Union Saint-Gilloise offer any barometer, it’s that they know how to pick a manager.
It has been a strange few weeks since the domestic season ended, with major managerial movements being sidelined by the World Cup. But one thing is for sure. The parting of ways between Rangers and Rohl is the best outcome for all concerned.
He will leave Rangers as another in a long line of failed managers. Not quite on the same level as a Russell Martin failure — thoughts and prayers with all Leicester City fans — but still a failure nonetheless.
In terms of managerial appointments, that’s two black marks on Cavenagh’s record. Three would be unthinkable.
