New Rangers head coach Danny Rohl stressed he was unconcerned with his position in the club’s original pecking order.
The German was appointed on Monday after potential deals with both Steven Gerrard and Kevin Muscat broke down at seemingly advanced stages.
It emerged last Wednesday Rohl had withdrawn from the running to succeed Russell Martin but the recruitment saga took a further twist on Sunday when talks with former Rangers defender Muscat collapsed.
The 36-year-old declared he had some “outstanding meetings” in the days preceding his appointment and added: “There was still immediately a great relationship between all of us in the meetings. I felt the trust.
“Football sometimes is about timing. The club was fighting, was looking for me, and we were still there and talking. The important thing is the outcome.
“I understand this question, of course. When a lot of rumours come out and there’s a no and there’s a yes, this is always difficult to understand. But we never stopped the communication and that’s the reason why I’m here now.
“You can be the first, the second or the third choice, what’s important is that you win the next games and then you have to go forward.
“I cannot tell you which choice (I was), I can just tell you that I’m here. It gives me the belief that I was the first choice and I want to go forward with this direction.”
Chief executive Patrick Stewart admitted he could understand perceptions that the process had gone wrong.
But he said: “Ultimately the proof of the process is in terms of the outcome, and we’ve got who we wanted to appoint in terms of Danny.
“We spoke to a number of different people. Some names ended up in the media, others didn’t. We cannot comment on confidential discussions, and equally we cannot control what others may say in the media or in briefings for whatever agenda they have.
“So to that extent, yes, I can understand that on the outside it might look as though the process has gone awry, but all we can look at is the outcome of the process. We had discussions with a number of very credible candidates and we got one of those over the line.”
Newly appointed Head Coach Danny Röhl was straight to work this morning, working with the team for the first time.
— Rangers Football Club (@RangersFC) October 21, 2025
Rohl takes over a team that has only won five of their 18 games this season. They sit 13 points behind William Hill Premiership leaders Hearts and have zero points in the Europa League ahead of Thursday’s clash with Brann in Norway.
With league games against Kilmarnock and Hibernian and a Premier Sports Cup semi-final against Celtic also coming inside his first two weeks in the job, Rohl is clear about the priority.
“At first you have to win games, then you can speak about playing attractive football,” said the former Bayern Munich and Germany assistant coach.
“And if you do these points in this order, then we have stronger togetherness with our fans again.
“The first step is, and this is the huge one, we need wins in a row. This is very important, because with wins in a row you can create self-confidence.
“We trained with intensity, we were very lively on the pitch, I see so much potential. If you can bring the squad together with your style of football, with the things you demand, then you will go in a fantastic direction.”
Rohl stopped short of saying they could still win the league, preferring to focus on the short term.
“I will put all my energy in to win the next games, and believe,” he said. “Because I believe, if we get this group running and the self-confidence comes back, they can win game by game.”
