Glasgow Rangers are currently on the lookout for a new head coach at Ibrox after they decided to part ways with Russell Martin on Sunday night.
The Rangers board finally made the decision to sack the former Scotland international after a 1-1 draw in the Scottish Premiership, which left the Gers in eighth place in the division.
Martin only won five of his 17 competitive games in charge of Rangers, including one win in the Premiership, and he cannot have many, if any, complaints with this decision.
Now that Patrick Stewart and Kevin Thelwell have made this call, the Ibrox chiefs must come together to make a successful appointment that will get the supporters back onside.
Title-winning boss is interested in Rangers job
Rangers are a massive club that represents a significant opportunity for numerous managers, due to their history and fan base, which means that there will be plenty of candidates vying for the job.
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This is evidenced by journalist Ben Jacobs reporting that Dutch head coach Mark van Bommel is “interested” in replacing Martin in the dugout at Ibrox.
The Dutchman, who favours a 4-2-3-1 formation, has been out of work since he moved on from Belgian side Royal Antwerp at the end of the 2023/24 campaign, which means that the club would not have to pay out any compensation to bring him in.
Jacobs adds that van Bommel was one of the managers who was approached by the club before Martin got the job this summer. This means that he is on their radar and could be an option once again.
If the Light Blues do opt to go back in for the former Royal Antwerp head coach, he could be a repeat of Giovanni van Bronckhorst, which may not be a bad thing.
Why Mark van Bommel could be Giovanni van Bronckhorst 2.0 for Rangers
Since Steven Gerrard left Ibrox to join Aston Villa in 2021, van Bronckhorst has been the most successful Rangers manager. He won the SFA Cup and reached the final of the Europa League.
Barry Ferguson, Michael Beale, and Russell Martin failed to win any trophies. Philippe Clement won the League Cup but did not have the success in Europe that the Dutchman did.
Prior to replacing Gerrard at Ibrox, van Bronckhorst had won the Eredivisie title and two League Cups during his time with Feyenoord in the Netherlands, and he used that winning mentality to win a trophy and come within a couple of penalties away from winning a European trophy.
Eredivisie title (16/17)
Belgian Pro League title (22/23)
Dutch League Cup (17/18)
Belgian Super Cup (23/24)
Dutch League Cup (15/16)
Belgian League Cup (22/23)
Dutch Super Cup (18/19)
Dutch Super Cup (17/18)
As you can see in the table above, van Bommel’s managerial success is not drastically different to van Bronckhorst’s before his move to Rangers in 2021.
The former Royal Antwerp head coach has won a league title in his career, in the 2022/23 campaign, and won two other trophies with the club before his exit in the summer of 2024.
This means that the Light Blues would be bringing in a manager who knows how to win trophies, a league title specifically, and could instill a winning mentality into the current team, that had been managed by a head coach in Martin who has never won a league title in his managerial career.
Rangers should be winning trophies, including titles, and they may need to appoint a proven winner to do that, which is why van Bommel could be an interesting option to turn to.