Rangers finally announced the appointment of Giovanni van Bronckhorst on Thursday, to bring to an end the uncertainty around Ibrox.
The Dutchman had been quickly linked following Steven Gerrard leaving the Scottish Premiership champions for Aston Villa last week.
Initially, it appeared Van Bronckhorst himself didn’t know a great deal about what was going on. The Dutch media were carrying claims last week that the coach wouldn’t tell them anything until Rangers had contacted him and started talks.
That changed as the weekend started, and since then it appeared a matter of when and not if he’d be appointed. Links between Ronald Koeman and Rangers looked nothing more than entertainment for social media whilst the wait continued.
Roy Makaay will be joining the manager at Rangers, and Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf feel that’s something of coup, insinuating he’d have had options elsewhere.
As well as Makaay, there’s set to be more Oranje at Ibrox, with De Telegraaf today saying Arno Philips will ‘almost certainly’ also be rocking up at Rangers, as the backroom staff takes shape.
Philips has been working in China, and has a lengthy CV as a physical trainer.
He’s worked with the South Korea, Australia and Turkey national teams, as well as clubs including PSV and Schalke.
Rangers attention will likely soon turn to the January window, and it’s inevitable there’ll be multiple Dutch players linked.
