Danny Rolle certainly knew what he was getting into with the Rangers. Otherwise, Thursday’s loss to Brann would have been a terrible wake-up call.
Rangers lost 3-0 away to Norway’s SK Brann in the Europa League in Russell Martin’s first game as manager.
Blanc 3-0 Rangers: Key moments from Roll’s first game 👇
Gers fell behind in the 40th minute, but Brun doubled their lead. Ten minutes into the second half, Mikey Moore missed a big chance. Five minutes later, Rolle’s side were unable to threaten a comeback. Noah Holm rubs salt into the wound in the final moments of the game
The Rangers managerial position has become something of a poisoned chalice, and Rolle is the latest man brave enough to take on the challenge.
Former manager Steven Gerrard was the club’s frontrunner to replace Martin, but resigned after emerging as the frontrunner.
After that, Rolle quickly fell from being a viable alternative to completely out of the picture, and the appointment of Kevin Muscat seemed inevitable, but he eventually withdrew as well, with Rolle once again emerging as the favorite.
After Stephen Smith took charge in Saturday’s 2-2 draw with Dundee United in the Scottish Premiership, Rohr was substituted for Rangers’ trip to Norway on Thursday as they aim for their first points in the Europa League of the 2025/26 season.
It was disappointing for the former Sheffield Wednesday manager, but it was yet another embarrassing result for Gers, who lost 3-0 to Brann in an embarrassing season in which they looked lackluster in attack and shaky defensively.
Read more: Russell Martin shows football clubs often play into the hands of fools
New manager, Rangers, same result
There wasn’t much sympathy for Russell Martin during his disastrous time as manager, and Rangers fans probably won’t have much sympathy for Roll either. But at some point you have to look at the team you’re playing and realize it’s just not good enough.
And that’s because of what’s going on in the upper echelons of the manager’s hierarchy, with recruitment under the club’s new ownership group being nothing short of chaotic.
There were high hopes when the 49ers Enterprise-led consortium took a majority stake in Rangers in May, but less than five months later, the mood at Ibrox couldn’t be any lower.
Mr Rolle certainly knew what he was getting into, but his unveiling could still have surprised him as he became a sideshow while owner Andrew Cavanagh, chief executive Patrick Stewart and sporting director Kevin Thelwell took to the field.
Thelwell and Stewart in particular have been roundly criticized for the ongoing shambles, with the former admitting that he underestimated the size of the club, which is incredibly naive.
It’s nothing short of a circus. With Thelwell, Stewart and Cavanagh trying to explain to the media Rangers’ disastrous start to the season and Martin’s disastrous tenure as manager (which ultimately resulted in him requiring a police escort from Falkirk’s stadium), it’s time for Mr Roll to become the face of the failed operation and try to explain where everything went wrong.
Thursday’s results and performance were comparable to what the Rangers have produced under Martin. It was just a new guy in the dugout, and there was similar chaos on the field.
The damage Kevin Thelwell and Patrick Stewart have done to this football club cannot be understated.
Holding them accountable for their actions has nothing to do with not supporting Danny Rohr.
Getting rid of those two clowns will only help Roll.
— CJ (@cjnovo992) October 23, 2025
Rangers Football Club: Scotland’s answer to Manchester United
There are some striking similarities between Rangers and another underperforming giant, Manchester United.
No matter who the manager is or how much money they spend, neither club can seem to find a solution.
The players signed the contract with high expectations, but were greatly disappointed. Players have been signed with mysterious compensation and are in limbo. The so-called elite managers ultimately failed. This all adds up to a toxic atmosphere among supporters.
There is no clear solution as both clubs continue to fall well short of their huge expectations.
It’s a question often asked at Manchester United, and it’s the same at Rangers. Where do they go from here? What can Rolle do to get this team full of underperforming players to perform at the required level? Confidence goes a long way, but it can only be gained by getting results.
What’s next for the Rangers?
Rolle hosts Kilmarnock on Sunday and will be hoping for his first win as Rangers manager and his second in the league this season.
Then there’s the quick turnaround, with a trip to Hibernian three days later before the trivial affair of the Old Firm derby at Celtic Park on November 2nd.
Celtic are in a winning position at the moment, but Rangers’ problems run much deeper than that. And with AS Roma due to come to Ibrox just four days after the derby, there is no easy path to a turnaround.
Simply put, it doesn’t look good.
