Danny Rohl has admitted he under-estimated the task of taking Rangers back to the top of Scottish football. The German took over at Ibrox in October last season, replacing Russell Martin when Rangers were sixth in the table. He revitalised the side and with five games left had them ahead of Celtic and just a point off leaders Hearts. However, their bid collapsed after the league split, and Rohl left this summer for Red Bull Salzburg, with Derek McInnes succeeding him.
A bigger challenge than expected
Rohl told Mailsport: “Was it a bigger challenge than I first thought? Yeah, in terms of how intense and emotional it is, yes. From a tactical point of view, you can make an impact soon, like when we won away at Hibs right away. But we then had to play Roma in Europe and had a cup semi-final against Celtic. So it wasn’t the easiest start to take over but I thought, OK, we can do it.”
Learning from the pressure
He recalled a key moment at Dundee United: “I remember at Dundee United away, for the first time I felt what it meant to be the Rangers manager. We had won our first four league games and drew once - but then lost a goal after 10 minutes in Dundee. Suddenly, the tensions were really high and it taught me that after wins, don’t get too emotional. I will bring that lesson here with me now.”
Emotional rollercoaster
Rohl understood the fans’ frustration after their side won just one flag in 15 years. He said: “It’s an emotional rollercoaster in Glasgow. I remember we led 1-0 against Kilmarnock at Ibrox and at half-time some fans were booing. We were leading at home! But I understand it. The most important thing for the club to move forward is to break that line and win a title. If you do this, there will be more trust from everyone to do it again and again. At the moment, you win eight games in a row at Rangers but if the ninth game is a draw or a defeat, everything is s**t again. You must have balance. But they’ve been trying to do it now for 15 years and only did it once under Steven Gerrard, which was a little bit special (due to Covid). Now, they want to do it in a full stadium and that was my dream as well. We got close but finally, couldn’t do it.”
