'I am trying my best': Giovanni van Bronckhorst feels he has Rangers players' backing but makes 'end of story' admission

Rangers manager Giovanni van Bronckhorst believes he has the support of the dressing-room.

A 90th-minute strike by John Lundstram rescued a point for Rangers, who were poor for long periods of the match and struggled to respond to Joel Nouble’s fourth-minute opener until they were handed a numerical advantage when Morgan Boyes was sent off on 77 minutes. The home fans loudly booed the team off the pitch, with the Ibrox club now four points behind Celtic in the title race.

Van Bronckhorst faced the media afterwards, insisting he can turn the situation around. When asked if the players are still buying into what he is trying to do, he replied: “What can I say? I am trying my best. As a manager, you have to stick with your beliefs, with your way of playing, and sometimes it is not going the right way. I also understand that. It is one thing for sure when you are not performing as a coach, as a team, when you are not getting your results then of course people will not buy into it. That is not just for me that is for every coach in this profession. You see if it is not going well then eventually it is end of story. That is for everyone. But I think we can still turn it around. I have to believe that we can still play the way that we can play. But we have to put energy into it and for me all the energy goes into my team, into making sure they are ready for the next opponent.”

When asked he believes the team believe it, he said: “Ask them. You talk with players as well. I have the belief they believe me.”

When it was put to Van Bronckhorst that there was no response to Wednesday’s 1-0 win against Dundee, when the team were also booed off the pitch, he continued: “Yeah, but if it is that easy that is very simple. Then everyone would be a coach. Then every game you can say: ‘Guys we need a response on Saturday’. And we win 3-0. It doesn’t work like that. There are so many factors influencing the mind of players. Physically, different circumstances. That is why it is a very demanding job.

"We have to not only think about tactics we have to think about players’ mindsets, players’ physicality, tactics. There is also the players’ form. Today we had three or four players who are not in their best form. That is also something you have to do take into account. If you put it all together you will find the line-up. Then again you have to wait and see if the line-up works. It is the most difficult decision you have to make in the job. But I believe my players are still behind me and working hard to overturn this moment.”

On the match itself, Van Bronckhorst added: “It’s very frustrating play at home and drop points against Livingston. I’m not happy with our performance. I’m not happy with the way we started. Normally we start on the front-foot at home but today was the opposite. Overall we didn’t create enough chances. It’s a difficult moment for us.”