Danny Rohl and Rangers have significantly changed tack after recent press conferences caused some issues with Rangers injury policy.
Rohl took to the presser lately to explain the change and it could be a subtly seismic shift in how Rangers deal with one thing:
Injuries.
Pre Hearts, Rohl said:
“Yeah, I think as a manager you always take the responsibility. I make my decision before the game, there was an idea behind it. And then after, the decision-making is influenced by the result. If you play a draw, then you have to ask maybe such critical questions, but this is normal. I think I had some reasons, I said this, that was the reason why I can’t tell you today about the injuries, or not such things. In 24 hours between my press conference and the game, some things changed, I got some new information, and I have to make new decisions. Finally, I cannot risk some players when they are maybe not 100 per cent available. Finally, it’s about results. If you take the right result, then you always have more arguments. If you play a draw, then you have to be ready for the other questions.”
Then yesterday pre-Livi he said:
“We have to change some players. Not that I want to, I have to. We have small injuries but I cannot go into too much detail today, but you will see, I think, on Sunday. One is short term, one is long. I think one player will be two to three weeks and the other one is doubtful for Sunday. There could be two or three changes for the weekend.”
And what’s the change?
Rangers are no longer officially confirming or announcing any injured players, specifically identities.
Now information is that Ryan Naderi and Dujon Sterling are the two in question, but Rohl has agreed with the medical staff to no longer commit to names publicly.
7-10 days
While John Eustace and Jordan Rossiter’s ‘7-10 days’ are a thing of the distant past, Rangers managers including Rohl had previously confirmed names of players who were doubts.
He is now no longer doing that, in a big shift in policy.
This now leaves Rangers fans and media using inside sources and, yes, guesswork, to identify any fallen players.
Is this a good move? A bad move?
For Pro-Rohl and ‘Happy Clappers’ who will endorse anything the club does, this probably gets their support. So for those who are a little more ‘grounded’ perhaps? AKA your Ibrox Noise regulars?
It’s probably a wise move in all honesty, because it means opponents do not have advanced information of who they will not face come matchday.
But it also keeps fans in the dark about who is injured and who isn’t. Which is maybe unfair. It’s our club, let’s not forget.
Alas this is a return of Rangers’ injury issues, something Ibrox Noise praised the improvement on only a week ago!
We’ll have more on Naderi and Sterling in a later piece, but for now, the change at Ibrox means we will no longer be informed of who is out and who isn’t.
Whether you think Rangers injury policy is a good thing depends on you.