They say you should never go back, and a return to his old employers for the former Rangers player-turned-coach would certainly be fraught with potential pitfalls.
Arne Slot’s impending move to Liverpool – the Dutchman is expected to step into Jurgen Klopp’s sizeable shoes – will leave a pretty big void in the Feyenoord dugout too. Slot, after all, guided the Rotterdam giants to only their second Eredivisie title in the 21st century.
Interestingly, the man who took Feyenoord to their first since the Milennium has been tipped to take Slot’s place, Giovanni van Bronckhorst still out of work a year-and-a-half on from his exit from Ibrox.
Could the former Dutch international emulate the success of his glorious first spell in the De Kuip hotseat? Or will Slot prove to be too tough an act to follow for a man who’s managerial career has stalled somewhat seven years on since that title-winning campaign alongside Eljero Elia, Nicolai Jorgensen and Dirk Kuyt.
Former Rangers boss tipped for Feyenoord return
Rangers legend Ally McCoist would be delighted to see Van Bronckhorst get the opportunity to kick-start his reputation in a familiar territory, however, feeling that the Dutchman was ‘harshly treated’ at a side who made the rather ill-fated decision to replace him with Mick Beale shortly before the 2022 Qatar World Cup.
“I would be delighted for him. I’d be absolutely delighted for him,” McCoist told talkSPORT (30 April, 9.50am) when asked about the prospect of Van Bronckhorst taking Slot’s place.
“I thought he was extremely harshly treated at Rangers, I really do. I would be really pleased for him (to go back to Feyenoord).”
Van Bronckhorst, still a relative youngster at the age of 49, spent three years at Rangers between 1998 and 2001 before returning as head coach in November 2021. While his second spell on the blue side of Glasgow will always be tainted in the eyes of some by that disastrous Champions League group-stage campaign, it was Van Bronckhorst who ended Rangers’ 13-year wait for Scottish Cup glory while guiding the club to within 90 minutes of Europa League glory too.
His beloved Feyenoord are set to miss out on Eredivisie glory this term, however. PSV Eindhoven, outstanding under Peter Bosz, are within touching distance of the title, former Rangers loanee Malik Tillman scoring twice and providing an assist during the 8-0 midweek obliteration of Heerenveen.
PSV Eindhoven on verge of Eredivisie title
“I watched a lot of videos of him before he came to us; a good player and a great talent,” Van Bronckhorst told RTL of Tillman, who PSV are keen to buy in a £12 million deal from Bayern Munich.
“(Tillman) did a great job for us last year. He gave an assist against PSV and scored important goals against Union Saint-Gilloise (in the Champions League play-offs).
“He’s strong on the ball and also with his work ethic. He also reads the game and he has good dribbling ability. I do think Rangers wanted to buy him, but Bayern Munich bought off the option to buy that Rangers had. That’s why he is now at PSV.”
