Röhl, recruitment and rebuilding Rangers’ confidence
A Rangers supporter argues the real issue is squad imbalance and belief, backing Danny Röhl to restore confidence and unlock talent rather than tearing up the entire recruitment department.
Debate around Rangers recruitment has been raging for weeks, but not all criticism is aimed at the scouts and analysts. For many supporters, the bigger concern is how unbalanced this squad looks and how short it is on proper experience and leadership in key areas.
That is where the focus of any internal review should be. It is not that every signing has been a dud, but that the blend is wrong. Too many similar profiles, not enough hardened voices on the park, and a group that looks fragile when the pressure really comes on.
A squad playing within itself
The most worrying aspect just now is not a lack of raw ability, it is the lack of confidence. You see it in simple patterns of play. Players taking the safe backwards pass instead of committing to the braver ball through the lines. Wide men checking back instead of driving past their marker. Midfielders turning out of space instead of stepping into it.
That sort of hesitation is not what these lads were signed for. They were brought in because they showed personality and quality elsewhere, yet too many are playing within themselves at Ibrox. When the crowd gets edgy and the stakes rise, they often fall into their shell. It is a mental and structural issue as much as a technical one.
The Antman example and Röhl’s challenge
Take "Antman" as an example. The Dutch league is no backwater and is arguably a stronger, more technical competition than the Scottish Premiership. To be the top assister there last season, as he was, you need genuine craft and end product. You do not fluke that over a full campaign.
So the question is obvious: why are Rangers not seeing that same player in a blue shirt yet? Injury has clearly not helped, and match sharpness matters, but confidence and role clarity are huge. One of Danny Röhl’s biggest tasks, once the winger is fully fit, is to strip that situation back and work out how to put him in positions to thrive again.
That applies across the team. Röhl needs to build a structure that encourages forward-thinking decisions, supports risk on the ball and allows creative players to play to their strengths without fearing the first misplaced pass.
Experience, leadership and small steps forward
New, experienced additions in the spine of the team would go a long way to helping Röhl get his message across during games. Leaders who demand the ball, keep standards high and organise those around them can take some of the load off the touchline and give a young coach more voices on the pitch.
There are still plenty of issues in this squad, and nobody is pretending one good spell will fix them. But there were signs in the latest match that the mentality is shifting. Rangers did not win, and aspects of the performance were still frustrating, yet the team fought right to the final whistle and pushed for any kind of result. That late-game desire simply was not there a month ago.
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Rebuilding confidence will not happen overnight, but if Röhl can marry a clearer structure with a couple of strong characters and unlock the level players like Antman have already shown elsewhere, the conversation around recruitment might start to look very different.
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