Mark van Bommel has already revealed his stance on joining Rangers after Russell Martin sack
Rangers’ search for a new manager has already begun with Mark van Bommel one name in the frame to replace Russell Martin.
Rangers appointed Martin in the summer, but a disastrous run of just five wins in 17 matches in all competitions left his position untenable.
Steven Gerrard could make a return to Rangers, whilst Danny Rohl and Sean Dyche are among the other candidates to replace Martin alongside former Bayern Munich midfielder van Bommel.
Martin leaves Rangers eighth in the Scottish Premiership, already nine points behind Celtic and 11 points behind league leaders Hearts.
Mark van Bommel hails ‘unbelievable’ thing at Rangers
Speaking to talkSPORT last month, van Bommel confirmed talks had taken place for the Dutchman to become manager of Rangers during the summer.
“Yeah, there were some talks [to become the manager], but not directly to the board of Rangers,” van Bommel said.
“It’s kind of the Dutch team – with a lot of Dutch players and also (Dick) Advocaat.
“I played against them once with PSV. The atmosphere is unbelievable.
“The Scottish league for me is a good league, and it’s a challenge to become champion and play in Europe.”
Now as per Ben Jacobs on X, [6 October], van Bommel is again interested in the job with Ibrox chiefs in the process of shortlisting names.
Rangers have only become champions of Scotland in one of the past 10 seasons, with Gerrard the only manager to topple Celtic at the top of the table.
Van Bommel’s managerial career so far
Van Bommel has only managed three clubs in his managerial career so far with a successful two-year spell at Royal Antwerp.
The Dutchman won three trophies in his time at Belgium, making up for his three month spell at Wolfsburg, where he had replaced Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner.
| Club/Stats | Games Managed | Games Won | Games Drawn | Games Lost |
| PSV | 75 | 44 | 15 | 16 |
| Wolfsburg | 13 | 4 | 3 | 6 |
| Royal Antwerp | 107 | 55 | 23 | 29 |
This would be the first time that van Bommel would join a club mid-season, if he is appointed Rangers manager, meaning no pre-season or transfer window to fix the current issues at Ibrox.
Van Bommel would need to turn around results immediately, and like Martin, would not be afforded time to implement a new style of play.