Brian Laudrup continues war of words with Giovanni van Bronckhorst and demands quick decision on Rangers future

Brian Laudrup is demanding a quick decision to be made on Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s future in order to avoid conceding the Premiership title before Christmas, after the Rangers boss hit back at the Danish icon’s comments last week as “stupid.”

Following the 2-1 defeat to St Johnstone at McDiarmid Park, Laudrup suggested the Dutchman was displaying the body language of someone who didn’t believe he could turn the club’s current predicament around. He stated “It looks almost like he has given up a little bit,” which left under pressure Van Bronckhorst unimpressed in his midweek press conference.

He called out the former Ibrox winger by admitting: “I have given up? That’s very easy and a stupid thing to say from Brian. He knows the pressure. I know I get a lot of questions about my body language, but I don’t think it’s anything about body language. It’s about what you bring to the players inside.

“I get many questions about how I should be different on the sidelines but I am me. I’m not anyone else and the last thing we all need is people putting the pressure even higher by suggesting things which aren’t true. So I totally disagree with him.”

Laudrup acknowledged the response and claimed he has no problem with what Van Bronckhorst had to say, but he fully stands by his comments and once again questioned whether his demeanour on the touchline was giving off the right impression in the wake of Saturday’s 1-1 draw at St Mirren.

The Light Blues required a late James Tavernier penalty to salvage a share of the spoils in Paisley. Coupled with Celtic’s victory over Ross County, it leaves the Ibrox side now nine points behind at the Scottish Premiership summit.

Van Bronckhorst admitted in his post-match comments about being unsure if he would still be in charge of the club after the World Cup and Laudrup reckons it’s pivotal to have a strong leader in the dressing room with some big decisions to be made between now and the summer transfer window.

Writing in his Daily Mail column this week, Laudrup said: “It felt like decision time was approaching last week. Now it has very much arrived. What happens next with Giovanni van Bronckhorst will help define how Rangers approach a hugely difficult set of circumstances.

“Even at nine points behind Celtic going into this World Cup break, the club cannot concede this season’s Premiership title. Not yet. Not with so much football still to play. But with ten players out of contract at the end of the campaign, Rangers also need to have one eye on how best to deal with a rebuild that will be the most significant since Steven Gerrard took charge in the summer of 2018. Courageous and experienced leadership would seem essential.

“Last week, I spoke about Van Bronckhorst’s body language his whole demeanour, really and whether it looked as though he truly believed he could turn things around in terms of recent performances and results. I know he responded to me with some comments of his own. He was perfectly entitles to do so. I have no problem with that at all, but I stand by what I said.

“The point I was trying to make was about the impression it gave to others, including players. I was thinking back to my time and whether I’d seen a manager look the downbeat way Van Bronckhorst did as his team lost to St Johnstone. Even in Van Bronckhorst’s own playing days, he might have wondered what was going on if his manager didn’t look as if he could change things or turn it around.

“The Dutchman has been through so much this season. Saturday’s 1-1 draw with St Mirren was yet another blow. It was more of the same, really. After the game, Van Bronckhorst spoke about not being certain whether he would still be in charge after the World Cup break. Again, to me, it looked like someone who wanted a decision to be made on whether he is the man or not.”