Rangers manager Danny Rohl has admitted that his toughest task so far has been preparing his players to quickly adapt between domestic and European competition.
The new Ibrox head coach says the biggest difficulty is getting his squad ready to “play in the league” and then, just three days later, to shift into “European league” mode.
The 36-year-old has had a hectic start to life in charge of the Light Blues. While he has won all three of his Scottish Premiership fixtures and steadied the team’s form in the league, he has also suffered two Europa League defeats and a League Cup semi-final loss to Celtic. Despite his extensive coaching background at RB Leipzig, Southampton, Bayern Munich, and with the German national team, this is only the second time he has taken on a full managerial role.
When asked if anything had surprised him, Rohl replied, “Not really.
I’m very positive about all these things,” but he admitted that the constant shift in styles and demands between different competitions has created a major test. “The biggest challenge is that you face many new opponents,” he explained.
“You need to understand what it takes to play in the league, but also what it requires to go again three days later in European competition. Finding that balance is the most important challenge right now.”
Rohl has already installed his own support staff, bringing in Sascha Lense, Matthias Kaltenbach, and set-piece specialist Scott Fry. He believes the squad is gradually evolving into what he calls a “Rohl team” and sees clear signs of progress.
“We’re on the right path, but you still see some old habits during certain moments in games,” he said. “We must keep working. We’ve shown, especially in the league, that things are moving in the right direction— but you can’t afford to ease off. You need to stay on the front foot and do even more.”
Reflecting on the aftermath of the loss in Bergen, Rohl described the team’s response as crucial. He praised the honesty shown during their internal discussions and believes those conversations have helped drive improvement. “We talked about the basics, and it’s getting better,” he said.
“But in every phase of our game, there’s still room for improvement. If you stop developing, your performance level stalls. Right now, we’re raising the level and the intensity, but of course, we want to push it further.”
Despite experiencing Scottish football for the first time, Rohl insists nothing has caught him off guard. What he has made clear, however, is that adapting to the constant demands of domestic and European football is the biggest challenge he faces at Rangers.
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