Overrated Rangers star, belittled his confidence urges Danny Röhl to get him out of the squad to face Celtic amidst club interest
*Overrated Rangers star? Danny Röhl urged to drop him for Celtic clash as confidence questions mount*
Rangers head into Sunday’s Old Firm at Celtic Park under pressure, and not just from the table. Manager Danny Röhl is facing calls to drop an “overrated” star from his starting XI after back-to-back defeats to Motherwell and Hearts left Rangers’ title hopes in tatters. The message from fans and pundits is blunt: get him out of the squad before Parkhead.
*The player in the firing line*
The name being repeated most is Andreas Skov Olsen. The Danish winger arrived with fanfare but has become the symbol of Rangers’ inconsistency in big games. He set up Youssef Chermiti’s opener in the 2-2 draw with Celtic in March, but “failed to exert much influence on proceedings after that and was replaced by Djeidi Gassama in the second half”. 41a6
That pattern has repeated. Against Hearts last weekend, Rangers led at Tynecastle before collapsing in the second half. Röhl called it out directly: “I think it is not just Youssef… The opponent stepped up in the second half… If you lose the ball two or three times you cannot bring your next pass to a team mate”. Skov Olsen was among those singled out for losing possession in dangerous areas. 41a6
GIVEMESPORT went further: “Danny Rohl Must Axe Andreas Skov Olsen After Celtic”. The report labelled him a “4/10 Rangers star” who’s been given “too many chances”, arguing that Mohammed Diomande should be unleashed instead. 13f8b2a8
*Confidence and mentality under the microscope*
Röhl himself has admitted mentality is the issue. After losing to Hearts he said it “wasn’t a mentality issue”, but pundit Kris Boyd disagreed: “Sorry, it clearly is… When it has come to the crunch this season, in the defining games, Rangers haven’t delivered”. 8dac
Boyd pointed to dropped points against Hearts and failing to “kill off a poor Celtic team when they led 2-0 at Ibrox”. The message: players aren’t stepping up when it matters. Fans have echoed that, questioning whether certain senior figures have the dressing-room influence a Rangers captain should have. 8dacea6b
Even Röhl’s body language has been picked apart. After the Hearts game, one fan noted: “Shoulders slouched, leaning on the desk, head down, low tone of voice… he looked every inch a very low in confidence individual”. Röhl himself said players “struggle once momentum swings against them during matches”. ea6b6b1d
*Why Sunday matters*
Rangers aren’t officially out of the title race, but it would “take an incredible sequence of results” to get back in. What’s on the line is second place and Champions League qualifying, worth “around £5million”. Lose at Parkhead and fans will turn on Röhl, warned ex-Rangers midfielder Andy Halliday: “See if Rangers don’t beat Celtic then I think the fans will turn on him. I genuinely do”. 8dacfe19
Röhl knows the stakes. He called Sunday “a special game for us” and told players they have “a big responsibility for the last three games”. He’s also been linked with a return to Germany with Wolfsburg, adding pressure to prove he can handle Old Firm intensity. 56740522
*What Röhl might do*
The German has already shown he’s willing to make tough calls. He hooked Skov Olsen at half-time vs Celtic in March and replaced Ryan Naderi with Diomande after 64 minutes. There’s “evidence that the squad options are just not there for Rohl”, but Diomande’s energy and Naderi’s return from injury give him alternatives. 3f7a6de0
Röhl insists he’s “totally convinced” the squad has “everything to move forward”. But he also admitted standards have to rise: “There is no player who can be too much in the comfort zone. We have to increase and be better and better and better in every game”. a67c41a6
*The verdict*
Rangers can’t afford passengers at Celtic Park. If Röhl wants to avoid a third consecutive Old Firm defeat and keep second place alive, dropping the overrated star and starting players who “fight for the badge every minute” looks inevitable. As one fan put it after Hearts: “No passengers. No excuses. This is Rangers.”
Sunday will show if Röhl agrees.
