Rohl Departs Rangers For Salzburg As McInnes Waits In The Wings

Danny Rohl has left Rangers after just eight months in charge, with the Ibrox club confirming news of his replacement “will follow in due course.”

The 37-year-old German departs to take over as head coach at Red Bull Salzburg, returning to the Red Bull stable where his coaching career began.

Hearts boss Derek McInnes is now widely expected to be appointed as Rohl’s successor, making Rangers ready to name a third manager in the space of 12 months.

Rohl replaced Russell Martin in October and initially transformed the club’s fortunes, steering them into a three-way title fight during the first half of the campaign.

However, a post-split collapse that included four defeats in five games ultimately condemned Rangers to a third-place finish behind Celtic and Hearts, leaving the club without silverware.

Chairman Andrew Cavenagh had publicly backed Rohl at the end of the season, making the departure slightly awkward given how far out on a limb the chairman had gone to defend him.

“I’d like to thank Danny for his service and commitment to Rangers,” Cavenagh said. “He and his staff put in a significant amount of hard work during his time in charge, which we are greatly appreciative of. We wish them the best of luck moving forward.”

Rohl, who had two years remaining on his deal, leaves with a record of 22 wins, 11 losses and seven draws across 40 fixtures in all competitions.

His new role at Salzburg represents a significant challenge, with the Austrian club having finished third in their domestic league last season, their lowest finish in two decades.

Salzburg will enter the Europa League at the third qualifying round next season, the same stage as Rangers, adding an intriguing dimension to Rohl’s new appointment.

The former Sheffield Wednesday manager first joined the Red Bull network under Ralph Hasenhuttl at Leipzig before following Hasenhuttl to Southampton in 2018.

He later served as assistant to Hansi Flick at Bayern Munich, where he helped the club win the Bundesliga, before taking his first senior managerial role at Wednesday in 2023.

BBC Scotland’s chief sports writer Tom English noted that Rohl never appeared fully settled during his time in Glasgow, suggesting Scottish football was never a natural fit for him.

“I wonder if Rohl was ever really happy at Rangers,” English wrote. “He never gave the impression he was totally at ease with the league.”

Despite that assessment, English is emphatic that McInnes would be the right man to replace him, describing the Hearts coach as “a no-brainer, an obvious call” given his vast knowledge of the Scottish game.

“He’s very experienced, a gnarled pro in Scotland, there’s nothing he doesn’t know about this league,” English added. “His work ethic is through the roof.”

Time is pressing for Rangers, with the squad scheduled to return to pre-season training this week and recruitment decisions urgently needing to be made ahead of European qualifying.

Scotland striker Lawrence Shankland has already been signed from Hearts, but the broader summer rebuild will now fall to whoever is appointed as the club’s new head coach.

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