“Quite spectacular.”
The two words Ronald de Boer uses to describe the start his pal and former team-mate, Giovanni van Bronckhorst, has made as Rangers manager.
Six Premiership wins on the trot sees the Dutchman go into this afternoon’s meeting with St Mirren at Ibrox with the chance of maintaining – or improving – a six-point advantage over Celtic heading into the unexpected winter break.
De Boer is delighted by that – but not surprised.
“When it was clear Giovanni was in conversation with Rangers I wanted him to get the job,” said the Light Blues boss’s compatriot, now 51, and working as an ambassador at his first club, Ajax.
“He is a friend and a former colleague. I follow his career, and I am pleased for him to be in such a massive job.
“In football, there are certain ‘special’ jobs – and Rangers are in that category.
“It’s a big appointment, and on the wish list of many, many coaches around world football, believe me.
“Of course, there was already a connection between Rangers and Giovanni. He played for the club, and had a very successful three-year period before moving on to Arsenal then Barcelona.
“So he knows about the club, the demands that would be put on him, he knows the city and he knows the passion of the supporters.
“That took away the element of surprise from many things when he took on the role, and that is a good position to be in.
“He has also had an amazing start to life at Rangers, quite spectacular. He has won six out of six league games, and kept five clean sheets in the process.
“In Europe, he had to make sure the club qualified for the Europa League knock-out stages and they did by beating Sparta Prague 2-0. They also got a creditable 1-1 draw in Lyon.
“They now have a very exciting tie against Borussia Dortmund to look forward to in February.
“Before that, the focus has to be on the league, and making sure they keep going and stay top of the table.
“It’s a very nice situation just now – but situations can change very quickly if you take things for granted.
“The players must stay focused, and follow the plans given to them by Giovanni and the coaching staff.
“If they do that, then I expect Rangers to win the Premiership. I think it will be tight with Celtic. It could maybe be very, very close. But they will do it.
“For a neutral, and for the reputation of Scottish football, it’s good to have a fight. It’s not really a positive to have the title settled by February or March.
“In Holland, we are having a good rivalry between Ajax, PSV and Feyenoord, and it creates excitement and interest. It’s the same for Scotland.
“I’m being a little bit single-minded when I say this, but I want to see as many Dutch guys as possible in high-profile roles.
“It’s good for our country and Giovanni is helping to fly the flag for Holland.
“But I also like to see all of my former team-mates doing well and being successful, whether it’s Pep Guardiola at Manchester City or Mikel Arteta at Arsenal.
“All of the great jobs don’t need to be occupied by Dutchmen!”
© SNS GroupIn predicting a tight title race this season, de Boer can speak from experience, having been involved in the nail-biting climax to the 2003 season when Alex McLeish’s side won the Treble, including the title on a dramatic final day of the campaign.
“When we won it in 2003, it was full of drama,” he recalled.
“We won by a single goal and the day we beat Dunfermline 6-1 at Ibrox will live long in my memory.
“What a day that was, and we finished off by beating Dundee to win the Scottish Cup and the Treble. I loved that season. It was so special.
“I know Giovanni and the players and the supporters would rather have the title won with four or five games to go, of course.
“But if it did go down to the wire, it would give it all some extra tension and maybe make it all that little bit sweeter,.
“That, however, is for Giovanni and the players to decide. I’ll go with what they wish for because I am also a Bluenose!”
De Boer has also been impressed with the way Van Bronckhorst has handled taking over from Steven Gerrard.
He said: “Filling his shoes was never going to be an easy task.
“Gerrard delivered an important title for Rangers last season, and they managed to do it in some style, beating Celtic by 25 points.
“On the back of that success and doing well in Europe, he was given an opportunity to go back to England, and accepted the Aston Villa job.
“That created an opening, and Giovanni has benefitted from it.
“He has first-class experience, and already knows what’s required to win a title as a manager, having done so at Feyenoord.
“Giovanni has used that knowledge in his early days at Rangers, and tweaked one or two things to make it a little bit different from what everyone was used to under Steven.
“He has three strikers – two in the wide areas and one through the middle – all working well as a unit. It allows the team to press high in all areas.
“The wingers really push on, and they have been creating lots of opportunities.
“The defenders have been defending well, and making that their main focus. You can see that with the number of clean sheets.
“So Giovanni has implemented some of his ideas into his own system to go along with the solid foundations he inherited from Steven.
“I hope it continues for him, and he will want another positive result against St Mirren before the winter break.”
De Boer was capped 67 times by Holland, and won the European Cup with Ajax, La Liga with Barcelona and four major trophies with Rangers.
He will watch on with interest to see how it all unfolds in the coming months.
But he has every faith in the Ibrox process, and a lot of his confidence is down to the club having Dave Vos on the staff.
“Dave Vos is an excellent coach,” said de Boer. “In the past two years, I told many top Dutch coaches to take him on their staff.
“Giovanni has now appointed him to his backroom team, and it’s a great move. Dave is very highly rated.
“He knows football inside out, has great and fresh ideas on the game, and is extremely knowledgeable on the tactical side.
“He eats and sleeps football, and the Rangers players will learn so much from him.
“It’s great for Giovanni to have someone as talented as Dave alongside him. They will be an excellent partnership.”
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