All of which means this is a manager who at one point had ruled himself out of the job, and a club that seemed determined to recruit other candidates. The message this sends is not exactly one of calm competence.
And now Röhl steps into what is in many respects a minefield.
The predicament facing Rangers is acute. The club, long accustomed to dominance in the Scottish game and a serious presence in Europe, find themselves wobbling.
Martin’s tenure lasted just 123 days and has left the team low on confidence, with fan frustration already boiling over.
Rangers are in sixth place in the Scottish Premiership, trailing the leaders Hearts by 13 points. They have also flirted with crisis in Europe, eliminated from Champions League contention and beginning their Europa League campaign poorly with defeats.
The club’s internal stability is in question.
The managerial search, the conspicuous absence of a clear long-term plan, the player unrest and off-field noise: all of it undermines the kind of platform a head coach needs to succeed.
A sensationally bad start to the season followed by a tumultuous managerial hiring process does not instil confidence.
What Röhl is taking on is a rescue mission. Rangers are still competing in four competitions this season, so there is ample opportunity for the new boss to make an impact.
But Röhl knows a quick turnaround is needed.
“I know it has been a difficult start to the season,” the 36-year-old said upon his appointment, “but there is still so much to play for in four competitions. The expectations here are clear. The fans want to see results now.”
And whether Röhl’s is up to the task is another question, given his youth and relative lack of managerial experience.
After a brief playing career, he entered coaching and made his name working behind the scenes at top clubs from RB Leipzig to Southampton to Bayern Munich. His first major head-coach assignment arrived in October 2023 when he took over Sheffield Wednesday in the Championship.
The club were bottom of the table and winless in their first 11 games when he arrived. He steadied the ship and by the end of the 2023/24 season had guided them to safety, later achieving a 12th-place finish in 2024/25 under trying off-field circumstances.
That record alone speaks to his ability to work under pressure, make marginal gains and instil structure – all of which should stand him in good stead at Ibrox.
There are obvious caveats.
He is untested in Scottish football and at a club with the size, expectations and culture of Rangers. The Ibrox job has been a furnace in recent years for young coaches, with impatience, media scrutiny and a demanding fan-base all intensifying the margin for error.
The recruitment process itself leaves a perception that perhaps Röhl was the fallback rather than the first choice, which will add pressure rather than ease it.
Röhl’s appointment and his relative inexperience all suggest risk. And there is no time for a long ramp-up period. The expectations are enormous, the clock is ticking and the board, fans and players will all expect change quickly.
But the scale of the troubles at Rangers mean that potential rather than pedigree may well be what is required.
Looking at the positives, Röhl is exactly the kind of young, dynamic coach who could inject fresh ideas and energy into a beleaguered team. The question is whether the system around him – on and off the pitch – supports him properly.
If he can impose his style, win early and build trust, then the gamble might pay off. His immediate focus will presumably be to rescue the defence of the club’s identity, tighten the ship and get results rolling. The broader project of returning to title-chasing can come later, but only if the foundations are laid from the start.
The new manager must settle fast, secure early signs of progress and begin the process of restoring faith. Whether he becomes a transformational figure or another footnote in the club’s recent instability will depend on how quickly and decisively he acts.
Röhl and Rangers might be a marriage of convenience, but it’s one that has to last longer than the club’s recent string of managerial flings.
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