Danny Röhl knew his work was cut out for him at Rangers when he took over as head coach in October.
On the field, he was taking over a squad bereft of confidence, sixth in the league and in many fans’ eyes, out of the title race after just eight games.
Off the pitch, things were not much better. Some of those supporters wanted former manager Steven Gerrard or ex-defender Kevin Muscat appointed instead of Röhl.
At one stage, Röhl withdrew from the process to become Rangers head coach, with Steven Gerrard among those in the mix
Not only did the former Sheffield Wednesday boss need to win the fanbase over, he also had to unite them following a series of protests against previous head coach Russell Martin and members of the club’s board.
Fast-forward three months, and there has been boardroom change, the players look revitalised, there is improvement in results, and the club is firmly back in a title race.
What is the title race situation now?
When Röhl arrived, Rangers were sixth with one win from eight games. They were eight points behind Celtic and 13 points off the leaders, Hearts.
Now, they are second in the Scottish Premiership. The Ibrox side are just three points adrift of Hearts, and three clear of their Old Firm rivals Celtic – albeit having played a game more than those two clubs.
Rangers have picked up the most points of any club since Röhl took charge, and confidence is growing.
Within that 13-game period, it is Motherwell and Hibernian who are closest to the Ibrox side in terms of points tallies, with 25 and 23 respectively, compared to Rangers’ 32.
Rangers’ title rivals Hearts have 10 fewer points over that period, and Celtic picked up 11 points fewer.
Going back to basics
Röhl was appointed in October following Russell Martin’s sacking
Unlike his predecessor, Röhl went back to basics and recognised that winning was a must. Nothing matters more at Rangers.
He may have a brand of football that he wants to implement, there might be areas of the squad he wants improved, and there could be players he would be happy to move on.
However, within these first few months, Röhl made it his priority to pick up points, raise the confidence within his squad, and get the season back on track.
Rangers have gone from sixth to second since Röhl was appointed
You don’t need to look far for examples of players who have improved in recent months.
For example, under Martin, Belgium international Nico Raskin’s Ibrox career looked over, Youssef Chermiti had failed to score following his £8m move from Everton, Connor Barron was in and out of the side, and Emmanuel Fernandez had featured twice since his £3m move from Peterborough.
Raskin insists he is enjoying life at Rangers under Röhl
Since then, Raskin has been key in midfield with several impressive performances, Chermiti’s Old Firm brace took him to four goals for the season, Barron picked up the man-of-the-match award as they eased past Aberdeen, and defender Fernandez has been important at both ends of the pitch, with four league goals and six clean sheets.
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Youssef Chermiti scored twice in under 10 minutes to give Rangers the lead in the Old Firm
In truth, nearly every player within the squad has improved under Röhl. It should be no surprise that results have too.
Röhl prioritised points over performance in these initial months. He wanted the confidence to improve and points to add up. It is fair to say part one of his plan is coming together – but there is a long road ahead.
Set pieces, brilliant Butland & tactic tweaks
Beyond the desire to win, how has Röhl delivered to get Rangers back into the mix? Well, there are three things to look at: offensive changes, defensive displays and everything in between.
From an attacking perspective, Rangers are scoring more goals. In fact, they’ve scored the most in the league since Röhl came in.
Rangers have improved in various areas under Röhl compared to their start under Russell Martin
Scott’s set-pieces
One contributing factor to that has been set pieces. The appointment of Scott Fry as set-piece coach may have gone under the radar in November.
However, since Fry joined from Lincoln City – who scored 30 goals from set-pieces last season – Rangers have thrived from dead-ball situations.
Röhl was involved in the appointment of Scott Fry (L) as Rangers’ set-piece coach
In fact, the Ibrox side have the joint-most goals in the league from set-pieces alongside leaders Hearts.
When you take into account some of those aforementioned players – Barron got two assists from balls into the box against Aberdeen, two of Fernandez’s four goals have been from set plays and Raskin – despite being 5’10 in height – has also contributed with headed finishes.
Röhl recently praised the arrival of Fry, telling Sky Sports: “Scott is doing a fantastic job and that is the reason why he is here. We made a good choice. It is not just about the topics and the content; he is also a good human and a good addition to my coaching team. I am very happy.”
Butland’s brilliance
At the other end of the park, Rangers are also conceding less. Truth be told, they don’t always look the most solid. However, a combination of confidence, determination and Jack Butland’s brilliance has been key in keeping the ball out of the net more often than not.
Rangers keeper Butland has 67 saves to his name, only bettered by Dundee’s Jon McCracken and Dundee’s Scott Bain. He also has eight clean sheets in the Premiership this season, behind Calum Ward of Motherwell, Celtic’s Kasper Schmeichel and Alexander Schwolow of Hearts.
Jack Butland (L) has eight clean sheets in the Scottish Premiership this season
It is a far cry from where Rangers once were under Martin, and others like Max Aarons, Jayden Meghoma and Fernandez in the backline look like different players from the first part of this season.
Only Motherwell have conceded fewer goals (four) in the league since Röhl joined Rangers, who have let in eight goals over 13 games.
Tweaking tactics
It hasn’t all been plain sailing. There was a defeat to Hearts, plus even some of those wins haven’t been as simple as the scoreline may suggest. Look at the first half of their Old Firm win on January 2, for example.
Rangers were outplayed in the first 45 minutes and were fortunate to only be 1-0 down at the break.
Whereas Martin may have been stubborn and stuck to his gameplan, Röhl changed it – or as he told Sky Sports “it was all about finding solutions”.
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Rangers came from behind to beat Celtic in the Scottish Premiership
In that game, instead of pressing man-for-man, he moved away from his back five and switched to a 4-3-3. From the moment the second half started, Rangers took control, and 26 minutes later, they were 3-1 up.
Röhl admitted his first-half tactics didn’t work and took the blame for that. He should also be given the credit for making the tweak and leading Rangers back into the title race.
