Charlie Nicholas claims next Rangers manager may need to sell players to balance books amid financial issues

With a Premier Sports Cup semi-final on the horizon this Sunday, Rangers fans are patiently waiting to discover if they will have a new manager in the dugout at Hampden Park.

The Light Blues are closing in on appointing Steven Gerrard’s successor as they aim to progress into a national cup final and build on their four-point lead in the Scottish Premiership.

However, ex-Celtic striker Charlie Nicholas believes the turmoil caused by Gerrard’s departure for Aston Villa is a big boost to their city rivals.

Nicholas was surprised the Liverpool legend opted to leave Ibrox for a side struggling towards the foot of the Premier League table.

He has tipped odds-on favourite Giovanni van Bronckhorst to take over the reins and insists the arrival of the former Dutch international could prove a shrewd move in maintaining Rangers stance as Scottish football’s dominant side.

Writing in his Daily Express column, Nicholas stated: “Developments at Ibrox will have delighted the green and white side of the city.

“I am not saying Celtic are now favourites but if they can win matches and put the pressure on the new Rangers manager then it will be interesting to see what pans out.

“But if I were on the Rangers board then Van Bronckhorst is the one I would go for.

“Van Bronckhorst, as a player and a coach, has done well. He seems to have done well when he was still a young coach. He has done it with style at a difficult club in Feyenoord.

“I have played and been involved Feyenoord through the years and they are a top Dutch club but they seem to never be far away from one crisis or another.

“There is an expectation on Feyenoord from their fans and like the Rangers fans they are very vocal. It seems he already has the Rangers fans on-side from his time as a player.

“The flip side of that is the new manager could be in place for Sunday for their League Cup semi-final with Hibs, so very quickly the new man could be in a final and could lift a trophy very quickly into his time at Ibrox.

“That would eclipse what Steven Gerrard did in his first couple of years. Gerrard is leaving them as champions but they are still that unpredictable force.

“One trophy in nine isn’t the greatest of records. It was a success story in stopping Celtic making it ten-in-a-row, so that job was done but the team could have delivered a lot more.

“Whoever takes over there are still the financial issues and they might well have to sell to balance the books.”

The Light Blues recently released their annual report which highlighted heavy losses of £23.5million in the last financial year.

Chairman Douglas Park cited the knock-on effect of the Covid-19 pandemic for their tough financial position.

Speaking earlier this month, he said: “The past year has continued to bring unprecedented challenges to our Club.

“The full impact of COVID-19 had yet to play out when I penned my previous annual report. The pandemic brought a profound impact on our Club, both on and off the field of play and its effects continue to be felt.”

That could see the next Rangers manager forced into selling a few of the club’s star performers and there has already been speculation that former boss Gerrard may return to try and prize the likes of Ryan Kent, Glen Kamara and Nathan Patterson to the Midlands.