Salzburg take Rohl, Rangers move—McInnes now crucial

Rangers switch – Danny Rohl’s Rangers tenure unraveled after the split, leaving Andrew Cavenagh facing pressure to explain keeping the young manager. Red Bull Salzburg’s intervention removed him from Ibrox’s spotlight, easing the path for Rangers to pivot toward Derek McInnes—

Danny Rohl’s card was already marked in the minds of most Rangers supporters by the way the season ended. He had the chance to win the league title, was backed with significant investment in the January transfer window, and still finished third.

Not just third—“a very distant third”. There was no way to dress it up. The collapsing feel of the end of the campaign turned his spell into something Rangers fans struggled to forgive, and it fed the argument that he should not have been allowed to continue beyond the summer.

What pushed those doubts beyond the league table was the way Rohl handled the exit of James Tavernier from the club. Even before any debate about tactics and results, there were feelings inside the support that the manager’s man-management was not at the level Rangers demanded.

Then the run that did the damage arrived: towards the end of the season, Rangers turned into a “total bin-fire”. After the split, they lost four of their five matches—an alarming stretch that made the question less about whether Rohl should stay, and more about how much longer he could survive.

Rangers chairman Andrew Cavenagh had, only weeks earlier, publicly backed him. Shortly after the season had finished. Cavenagh “nailed his colours to the Rohl mast” and gave the young German his full backing. He spoke about the progress made since Rohl took charge last October and about his belief that Rohl could lead the club to the league title next season.

With the pressure building after that collapse after the split, Cavenagh had to come out and explain the rationale for sticking with an under-fire manager. What he probably couldn’t have accounted for was that another club would step in and take Rohl off Rangers’ hands.

Red Bull Salzburg have relieved Rangers of the problem. And in the eyes of many at Ibrox. it’s a massive favour—because it removes a manager who. in this assessment. “simply was not up to the task”. For Salzburg, it’s a move into the Red Bull coaching pathway. For Rohl, it’s a return to the system where he learned his trade.

The pathway is easy to imagine: if he succeeds at Salzburg, there’s a belief he could then be moved on to RB Leipzig before too long. For Rangers, the timing matters as much as the decision.

There’s also the contrast in Rohl’s personality during the season. at least in how he presented himself in public. In dealings with the press. he always came across as a decent man—only once did he truly lose his temper and snap at a question. That moment came after Rangers returned from a training camp in Spain and lost 3-2 to Motherwell at Ibrox in their first post-split fixture.

Daily Mail Sport asked Rohl whether he expected more in terms of the performance level. It was the first time all season he had been able to spend quality time on the training pitch with his players. The response didn’t go down well. Rohl didn’t like the line of inquiry. and the fact Rangers then went on to lose four straight games after that training camp made it feel like there was “no further questions”.

At Rangers, the view hardened that his inexperience—and lack of basic man-management skills—was showing. The argument wasn’t just about poor results. It was about whether the second managerial job in his career was the right level for a club Rangers considered too big for him at this stage.

So what does this leave Cavenagh with?. More pressure than luck. Cavenagh arrived at Rangers just over a year ago when the Americans completed their takeover. Since then. the club has spent close to £40 million on new players. failed to win any trophies. and is now on the hunt for its third manager in the space of 12 months.

The search no longer looks like it will take long. After the Russell Martin debacle, and after Rohl then blowing a chance to win the title, Cavenagh is now going for what’s described as the safe, sensible choice: Derek McInnes.

McInnes is expected to be unveiled as Rangers’ new manager in the coming days. The case for the move is straightforward in the eyes presented here. He knows the league and the club inside out, has a proven track record, and “ticks a lot of the boxes” Rangers need.

The wider point is that Rangers have already exhausted options. They have gone British, gone foreign, gone with a manager, and gone with a coach. But it has not produced sustained long-term success. If there is one route Rangers haven’t tried—at least not recently—it’s the manager described here as staring them in the face for the last 10 years.

There is even a stamp of credibility from the past: Walter Smith once openly endorsed McInnes for the job. Whether or not it “could or should have happened years ago” is treated as less important than the fact it is happening now. Coming off the most thrilling yet heartbreaking season of his career. McInnes is set to land the biggest job of his life.

For Hearts, the coming summer carries its own sting. The fact they have lost their manager and star striker to Rangers in the space of a couple of weeks is framed here as a bitter pill to swallow.

And there’s a final burden resting on Cavenagh’s shoulders. He has been in the US talking over the deal for McInnes—one that “must work for him”. With the domestic season finished, managerial movements have been sidelined by the World Cup, but the impatience around results is not going to wait.

Two black marks are already in the record. If this appointment fails too, the consequences would be unthinkable—because a third failed appointment on Cavenagh’s watch would leave Rangers without the luxury of excuses.

Rangers Danny Rohl Andrew Cavenagh Red Bull Salzburg Derek McInnes James Tavernier Russell Martin Hearts Walter Smith