Not just Gassama: Rohl can ignite Rangers star who looked lost under Martin
Glasgow Rangers officially confirmed Danny Rohl as their new head coach on a three-year contract at Ibrox on Monday after Saturday’s return to action.
Steven Smith oversaw a 2-2 draw against Dundee United at Ibrox whilst in interim charge, and Rohl will now lead the team out against Brann on Thursday evening.
The former Sheffield Wednesday head coach will be hoping to fare far better than the man he is replacing, as Russell Martin won just five of his games in charge.
Rohl is tasked with getting more out of the group of players that the former Scotland international struggled with, and he has already shown that he can work well with Djeidi Gassama.
Why Djeidi Gassama will love the appointment of Danny Rohl
The French winger will love this appointment because he enjoyed the best season of his senior career to date whilst working with the German tactician at Sheffield Wednesday in the 2024/25 campaign.
Gassama scored seven goals in the Championship for the Owls, per Sofascore, which is a career high for the attacker at league level in his career to date.
The 22-year-old star has yet to score in eight Scottish Premiership games for Rangers, though he has scored four goals in Europe, and Rohl could ignite his league form if their work together in England is anything to go by.
Gassama is not the only attacker who may benefit from this fresh appointment by the Gers, though, as Thelo Aasgaard’s career at Ibrox could explode after his dismal time under Martin.
Why Thelo Aasgaard could thrive under Danny Rohl
The Norway international was signed from Luton Town for £3.5m in the summer transfer window and mainly played on the left of a midfield three for Martin, which meant that he spent a lot of time in his own half and with his back to goal under pressure from opposition players.
His heatmap, as shown above, for the 2025/26 Premiership season shows that he has spent far too much time in his own half and has hardly had any touches in central positions.
It is not a surprise, therefore, that he managed no goals, no ‘big chances’ created, and no assists in five league appearances for Martin. He looked like a lost cause with no signs of life in his attacking displays, but his performance at the weekend showed that there is life in him yet.
Aasgaard played in the number ten position in a 4-2-3-1 formation on Saturday under Smith and thrived in that role, taking more touches in central areas than he did under Martin, per Sofascore.
Minutes
83
67
Touches
59
40
Shots on target
3
1.2
Goals
1
0.2
Successful dribbles
3
1.2
Key passes
4
0.8
Duels won
10
5.5
As you can see in the table above, the Norwegian star’s performance against Dundee United was significantly better than his average performance level under Martin.
Aasgaard only created one chance in five games under Martin before creating four in one match as a number ten in a 4-2-3-1 formation, whilst also scoring his first league goal for the club.
Per Transfermarkt, Rohl predominantly plays a 4-2-3-1 formation and this means that the former Luton star will be able to play as a natural number ten behind Bojan Miovski in the German’s system.
Rather than being forced to play too much in his own half, as he was as a left-sided central midfielder under Martin, he will be able to take the ball in the opposition’s half and play closer to their goal to make things happen in the final third.
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Therefore, Rohl could ignite Aasgaard’s Ibrox career by coming in to make the Norway international his creator-in-chief in the number ten position, as the hub of the team. It could give him the license to truly impact matches week-in-week-out and emerge as a star for the Light Blues.