GIOVANNI VAN BRONCKHORST has been booted as Ibrox boss just three days after celebrating his first anniversary in charge.
The Dutchman was unveiled as Aston Villa-bound Steven Gerrard’s successor last season as the Govan club hoped to win successive championships.
However, the quest was wrecked in Van Bronckhorst’s first meeting with Ange Postecoglou at the start of February as a double from Reo Hatate and another from Liel Abada gave the Hoops a 3-0 half-time advantage as they soared to the Premiership pinnacle for the first time in 18 months.
Celtic remained in pole position as the 57-year-old Greek-Australian gaffer led the team to their tenth crown in 11 years after the previous campaign’s inexplicable failure that cost Neil Lennon his job.
BE SEEING YOU…Giovanni van Bronckhorst appears to wave in the direction of Ange Postecoglou.
And it’s been a similar tale of woe for the Parkhead men’s city rivals this time out with goals from Abada (2), Filipe Jota and David Turnbull making certain of full points in the first Glasgow clash of the new term in September.
The pressure was growing on Van Bronckhorst from that moment and sledgehammer defeats in the Champions League, leaking a colossal TWENTY-TWO goals in six successive defeats from Liverpool (0-2, 1-7), Napoli (0-3, 0-3) and Ajax (0-4, 1-3) added to the calls for his exit.
The Govan club took over from Dinamo Zagreb, who had held the unwanted record for a decade, as the WORST-EVER performers in the group stages in Europe’s elite competition.
The axe fell on the former Dutch World Cup skipper with the club trailing the champions by NINE points after dropping seven from a possible 12 in their last four league games – losing 2-1 to St Johnstone in Perth, drawing 1-1 with 10-man Livingston and St Mirren while picking up one win in the 1-0 victory over Hearts.
Now Van Bronckhorst is the third shortest-ever stay of a Gers manager following the disastrous stints of Pedro Caixinha and Paul le Guen.
GLASGOW BELONGS TO ME…Filipe Jota acknowledges the Celtic support after his solo goal in the 4-0 derby triumph in September.
The former Rangers player was axed halfway through his first full term in charge. He is currently in his homeland during the World Cup break, but was expected back in Glasgow in two weeks’ time.
The 47-year-old gaffer has now been informed that his tenure has come to an end and his backroom staff, including assistant Dave Vos and coach Roy Makaay, have also been handed their P45s.
Supporters have become increasingly vocal as questions have been asked of chairman Douglas Park and Ross Wilson, the sporting director, in recent weeks and the decision to sack Van Bronckhorst comes just a fortnight before the AGM which promises to be stormy.
Now the search will be launched for a successor and the club’s third manager in just over 12 months.
The name of former Burnley gaffer Sean Dyche, fired by the Turf Moor outfit in April as they slid towards relegation from the Premier League, has already been mentioned.
