Giovanni van Bronckhorst sacked as Rangers manager

After Steven Gerrard decided to leave Rangers and join Aston Villa last November,

appointed Van Bronckhorst as their new manager on a three-year deal.

Rangers won the Scottish Cup and reached the Europa League final under Van Bronckhorst but they lost against Eintracht Frankfurt.

Rangers finished four points behind Celtic in the league last season and this season they are nine points behind Celtic. They lost with four goals against Celtic in September. They also become the first Scottish team to lose all six of their group-stage games in the

A statement announcing Van Bronckhorst’s departure read:

“Rangers Football Club confirms today it has parted company with manager Giovanni van Bronckhorst. The board would like to put on record sincere thanks to Gio for all his efforts since his appointment as manager.

“Arriving at the club just over a year ago, Gio led the club to a fifth European final and won the Scottish Cup last May. He also led the team to the club’s first Champions League qualification in 12 years.

“Unfortunately, results and performances over recent months haven’t met expectations and the decision was made today by the board to terminate the contract of the manager. The search for the new manager is now underway.”

In a statement on Rangers' website on Monday, chairman Douglas Park said:

"I want to thank Gio for the hard work he has put in over the last 12 months and, especially the achievements of taking the club to the Europa League final and winning the Scottish Cup last season.

"Unfortunately, recent results have not met neither our nor Gio’s expectations, and we have taken this difficult decision today. Everyone at Rangers wishes Gio every success in the future."

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