RANGERS are searching for an 18th permanent manager in their 150-year history following the dismissal of Giovanni van Bronckhorst on Monday.

The Dutchman was in the Ibrox hot seat for a little over a year but a run of poor performances and results resulted in his removal.

He took charge of 65 matches, guiding the club to 41 wins and boasting a win percentage of 63.08. It was a relatively decent return but, ultimately, he had lost the belief and trust of large swathes of the support, a situation that clearly extended to boardroom level.

Despite a raft of injuries that plagued his squad, the style of play was uninspiring and with the club languishing nine points behind league leaders Celtic, a change of manager seemed almost inevitable.

But could things have turned out differently for van Bronckhorst had he made different decisions? 

Here are his biggest Rangers mistakes.

January transfer window

It's fair to say Rangers' transfer business in January failed to deliver given what their reputations suggested. The acquisition of Aaron Ramsey on loan from Juventus on transfer deadline day felt, at the time, a shrewd bit of business. It was a gamble that failed to pay off. The injury-plagued 31-year-old mustered just 13 appearances during his stay and signed off by missing the crucial penalty in the Europa League final. Amad Diallo would arrive from Manchester United on loan but struggled with the physicality of the Scottish game and barely made an impact when it counted. James Sands was also brought in on an 18-month loan and has been relatively steady but, in the main, it was a poor window and didn't give the boost Rangers needed for the title. Van Bronckhorst isn’t solely responsible for the signings, of course. Sporting Director Ross Wilson should also shoulder much of the blame but as is the norm in football, it’s the manager who lives and dies by mistakes made in the transfer market.

Failing to address right winger problem

This is an issue that pre-dates van Bronckhorst’s time in charge and, as yet, is still to be rectified. Rangers have struggled to find someone that can consistently fill the right wing void ever since Daniel Candeias was allowed to depart for Turkey. A host of players have now been tried with Scott Wright, Ianis Hagi, Fashion Sakala, Kemar Roofe, Amad Diallo and Rabbi Matondo all given the nod. None have grasped the opportunity and shown a consistent level of performance to nail down the position. It is an area Rangers must look at strengthening in the January window or it will continue to be a problem that will dog van Bronckhorst’s replacement.

Parkhead déjà vu

When Rangers were on the receiving end of a 3-0 defeat to Celtic at Parkhead back in February there was a sense that this was a team that had regressed back to the pre-Steven Gerrard days when heavy beatings were the norm against their arch-rivals. As much as Celtic would emerge victorious at Ibrox in April, Rangers were far more competitive and they did manage to get the better of Ange Postecoglu’s men in the Scottish Cup semi-final at Hampden. That being said, when they pitched up at Parkhead at the start of September it was like watching February’s horror show on repeat. Rangers were blown away in a first-half onslaught just as they had been seven months earlier. Lessons had not been learned and it only increased doubt amongst the fanbase that van Bronckhorst wasn’t the man to lead the club forward.

Europa League final substitution

It would be churlish to deny that van Bronckhorst provided some of the most memorable nights as a Rangers supporter and he was a spot kick away from immortality in Seville. However, the decision to bring on Aaron Ramsey and Kemar Roofe near the end of extra time against Frankfurt with a view to taking a penalty failed to pay off. The Jamaican would convert but Ramsey saw his tame effort saved. Interestingly it was Fashion Sakala who made way for Ramsey, yet he regularly hit penalties for Zambia. The Wales boss Rob Page criticised van Bronckhorst by stating it put Ramsey under "unnecessary pressure". Anyone can miss a penalty but you can't help but feel that Sakala would've been more suited to step up had he been kept on the field.

Not strengthening for Champions League campaign

When Rangers defeated PSV in their own backyard to qualify for the group stages for the first time in 12 years there was an understanding there would have to be reinforcements added to the playing squad to compete at European football’s top table. It was a surprise to many that there were no additional signings made before the transfer window closed and it proved costly as Rangers would embark on a nightmare campaign which would result in becoming the worst performing side in group stage history. Prior to the opening match with Ajax, van Bronckhorst was quizzed on the strength of his squad and if he had regrets and not adding to his pool of players to which he replied: “I have no regrets at all.” He would go on to add that there wasn’t an endless pot of money to spend on players but the fact remains that Rangers squad may have been built to qualify for the Champions League but it was severely lacking in quality to compete once they got there.

Ajax post-match comments

Following the humbling 4-0 defeat in Amsterdam, van Bronckhorst’s comments afterwards were damning. The Dutchman said: “To compete in the Champions League you need hundreds of millions. Otherwise, you can’t compete. Look at Ajax, they sold players worth over £200million. Look at Liverpool as well. For us to compete with them it’s too much to ask. We want to compete but we want to compete with the squad we have and the squad we’re capable of making. We knew it would be tough and it showed today.” It was a comment that dismayed many supporters as it appeared defeatist particularly given the fact fans had paid a substantial amount of money to watch their team in action against the likes of Ajax, Liverpool and Napoli both home and away. It was also a quote that would prop up at press conferences afterwards for domestic matches given Rangers’ budget towers over the other teams in Scottish football bar Celtic. He certainly didn’t do himself any favours and it was an unnecessary soundbite that would come back to bite him on a number of occasions.

Rangers Review: (Image: NQ)

The substitutions against Liverpool

They say hindsight is a wonderful thing and you wonder if van Bronckhorst would have done things differently when it came to his substitutions as Liverpool were running riot at Ibrox. With the Reds racing into a 4-1 lead the game was over and it was about damage limitation. However, on the 76th-minute van Bronckhorst made a triple change and instead of looking to shut up shop, he made like-for-like substitutions. Scott Wright replaced Ryan Kent, Rabbi Matondo came on for Fashion Sakala and Alfredo Morelos was introduced for Antonio Colak. With the team being carved open at will, it seems nonsensical to make these changes. What would unfold would be a further two goals for Mohamed Salah and a late Harvey Elliot strike to consign Rangers to their worst-ever Ibrox result and intensify the pressure on the manager. There were calls for his sacking following this result and you can understand why. Had he made more defensive-minded subs the mood music around the defeat would’ve been far less damning and it may have afforded him more time to win supporters over.

Domestic conservatism

There was a feeling with van Bronckhorst that he over-analysed domestic matches which saw points dropped regularly. It wasn’t a surprise to see two defensive-minded midfielders for matches, even at Ibrox, against teams that Rangers were expected to beat comfortably. As much as he suffered only four league defeats during his time in charge, it was draws that seriously dented their title hopes last term as well as this campaign. Dropped points when in winning positions against the likes of Aberdeen, Ross County and Motherwell last season were damaging and this term, draws against Hibs, Livingston and St Mirren have proved equally so. There was a sense that this was a team playing with the handbrake on for much of van Bronckhorst’s tenure and it added to the frustrations amongst supporters about the lack of quality and entertainment on display.

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