Rangers dealt Jean-Paul van Gastel blow | OneFootball

A behind-the-scenes Rangers setback has emerged on the make-up of Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s backroom team…

What’s the talk?

According to the Daily Record, Jean-Paul van Gastel may not be able to link up with the 46-year-old at Ibrox until January due to his contract with Chinese cliub Guangzhou City.

The report claimed that the Dutchman has been lined up to join Van Bronckhorst’s coaching team, having worked as his assistant at Feyenoord, but they will need to iron out a deal with Guangzhou if they want him to arrive before the next transfer window.

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Gutting blow

This news will surely be gutting for Rangers fans as it appears to be a sizeable blow to Van Bronckhorst’s short-term plans at Ibrox. The issue with him joining in the middle of a season whilst out of a job is that he has to piece together a backroom staff from scratch with certain people in work elsewhere, with Van Gastel still under contract in China.

Gastel and Van Bronckhorst worked hand-in-hand at Feyenoord and were hugely successful as a pair in the Netherlands. In four years, they won five trophies for the Rotterdam club and averaged 1.99 points per game across 176 matches – finishing third, first, fourth and third in the Eredivisie in that time.

In the 2016/17 campaign, they led the team to 84 points and the league title as they won 26 of their 34 matches and averaged 2.41 points per game. This provides an insight into how well they worked together at Feyenoord and the sort of influence they could have in Glasgow moving forward, which is why Van Gastel not arriving until January could be a big blow for both Van Bronckhorst and Rangers.

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Therefore, Gers fans may not see the full potential of Van Bronckhorst’s staff until the second half of the season. They may need to wait until January for the 46-year-old’s right-hand man to come through the door for his management to be as effective as possible. Van Gastel already worked with him at Feyenoord and will know exactly what he wants from the players, which could make him a useful coach to have on the training ground to ensure that everyone knows what is expected of them.

This is why Gers supporters may be gutted by this update on the 49-year-old coach. Hopefully Ross Wilson will be able to work out a deal with the Chinese club to bring him to Scotland sooner rather than later, but it remains to be seen whether or not that will be possible.