Danny Rohl reveals the Rangers player dossier he handed to Kevin Thelwell and timeline for action

The boss is preparing for a sit-down summit with the sporting director after his assessment of the first-team

(Image: Getty Images)

It feels like Rangers have been stuck at a set of traffic lights for years.

Now, they’ve turned to a German in Danny Rohl to try and get them motoring again.

And the new Ibrox gaffer has revealed he’s using his own colour system to mark every player in his squad.

When Rohl arrived in Glasgow, he immediately said he’d need three weeks to deliver a verdict on who was in the building.

During this international break, he submitted to sporting director Kevin Thelwell and the board his own dossier on what is required at Rangers.

Within it, players who Rohl feels are valuable and he wants to keep were, ironically, in green.

Others who he clearly feels aren’t up to it and may be surplus to requirements – were in red.

And the rest were yellow. Those are ones where the jury is still out and they have it all to prove.

Rohl offered a fascinating insight into how he works ahead of this weekend’s Premiership game against Livingston.

He’s been hit with an injury crisis with several stars returning from international duty unfit.

And that might alter his thinking going into the January transfer window.

But with the likes of John Souttar, Derek Cornelius, Mikey Moore and Youssef Chermiti all struggling with injury problems – Rohl will give others an opportunity.

And that means some of those yellows or reds might earn themselves a green sticker if they prove themselves to the manager.

When asked about the details of his report, Rohl said: “We had a meeting last Monday. I put the players in my light system, green, red and yellow.

“To give an overview, I think this is always helpful.

“Then it’s also important to understand the content.

“It’s not just that you put the light system on and then you make a decision.

“It’s about the contracts side of it. It’s also about positions.

“And now, again we have injuries. So now it’s a time where you can see more of the players.

“They may be at the moment more yellow. But maybe they can improve to be a green one.

“We will have another meeting in the next week where we look through it.

“I will also watch some interesting players to see what is possible.

“The good thing is we have a clear mindset. We are all on one page, in terms of which direction we want to go and which parts of the game we want to improve.

“We are in a really good process at the moment, also with the players.

Rangers Danilo celebrates after scoring to make it 1-0(Image: SNS Group)

“For example, Danilo, he was out before I arrived. But at the moment, yeah, he will start on Saturday.

“I can say this if you want, it’s no secret.

“This is what I want with my team. Then we can really make the next statement.”

In a typical German fashion, Rohl is methodical and meticulous.

It’s clear that, just a month or so into the job at Rangers, he knows exactly what’s needed to get them climbing the Premiership table.

There will be movement in January, with some players leaving and others coming in.

It will need to be done in cooperation with Thelwell and his recruitment team.

But one thing is certain. Rohl knows what he wants and isn’t interested in bringing more squad players in.

He’s only keen on adding quality to his first-team, who can make an immediate impression.

Rohl said: “In the best case, you win every game until January and then you have less work.

“But that is only a dream and I know this.

“We have to get to a point where we bring in impact players. It makes no sense just to have numbers.

“That is sometimes a hard job in January, to get those impact players.

“But we will work on it and I’m very positive at the moment because I’ve had so many conversations with Kevin and the board.

“Whether it’s my say or not, it’s about winning games. This is the crucial thing for me.”

And to help him do that, Rohl has brought in specialist set-piece coach Scott Fry from Lincoln City.

He might not be the club’s most expensive or glamorous appointment but the gaffer feels he could be vital to any future success.

Especially, as Rangers had to beat off stiff competition to get him.

He said: “For set-pieces, you need a specialist. Scott has a lot of passion for this part of the game.

“The players don’t like training too much on it. But in the end, 30 percent of goals are from set-pieces.

“So we’ve worked on it in the last few days, in defence and offence.

“I’m very happy to get Scott. It was about data and looking to see who is the benchmark and which profile we wanted.

“We’ve made a fantastic decision as a club because there was a race for him, it’s no secret.

“He had an offer from another club but in the end we convinced him.”

Rohl is looking to make it four Premiership wins on the spin against Livingston as Rangers try to haul themselves back into a potential title race.

The 36-year-old is settling into life in Glasgow and enjoying the ride.

So much so, he and his staff all went out for Scotland’s epic World Cup qualifier against Denmark in midweek.

Rohl said: “It was a good evening. I’ll never forget it because I invited the staff for a couple of drinks together and a little bit of a Scottish football experience.

“We sat together and watched it. Outstanding goals and what a story.

“It’s fantastic to be a manager in a country that’s going to the World Cup.

“There were fireworks. When I looked at my staff, they were standing on the table! There was a great atmosphere in the pubs.

“That last minute describes what football means. Everyone hoped for the whistle but it was a fantastic goal (from Kenny McLean).

“I like that. I’m very happy to be here, it’s really positive.

“I feel at home after four weeks and, of course, results help for a manager.

“But I’m enjoying my work and I have lots of energy. I’m hopeful we can have a great future here.”