DAVE KING believes former Rangers boss Giovanni van Bronckhorst suffered the same issues as predecessor Steven Gerrard ahead of his Ibrox exit.
The Dutchman was sacked on Monday after overseeing a wretched run that leaves Rangers nine points adrift of Celtic in the title race and licking their wounds from an embarrassing Champions League campaign.
Van Bronckhorst lasted just 12 months at Ibrox following his appointment as Gerrard's successor as the man that delivered a historic 55th Premiership title opted to join Aston Villa halfway through his fourth term as boss.
King has cited a breakdown in the relationship between Gerrard and chairman Douglas Park as key to that decision and the former chairman addressed the fortunes of Van Bronckhorst and Ross Wilson during a Q&A session with Club 1872 on Monday evening.
King said: “The position that Rangers were in at the beginning of last season was really one where I thought we would embark on a number of titles and would go on to win a number in a row.
“If it wasn’t for the fact that, first of all, Steven was let down in terms of the money that was promised to him and then secondly when his relationship with the chairman got to the point when he was effectively forced out.
“To me, I don’t think the circumstances that forced Steven out of the club were any better when Gio came in. Therefore I am kind of guarded in my comments about Gio and Ross Wilson.
“I do think they have probably come up, over the last year, against some of the same obstacles with the board that Steven encountered and that lead effectively to Steven being forced out of the club at a time when he was top of the league and in the semi-final of the cup.
“To some extent, I think we scored an own goal. But whether that own goal can be attributed to Ross Wilson, I am not certain.”
READ MORE:
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel