KV Oostende manager Alexander Blessin was delighted to be named Jupiler League’s 2021 coach of the year amid reported interest from Rangers, speaking to SWR Sport.
Giovanni van Bronckhorst may have emerged as the number one choice to succeed Steven Gerrard in the Ibrox hot seat but the former Feyenoord boss isn’t the only candidate.
Far from it.
And there’s an argument 48-year-old Blessin would represent more of a coup than Van Bronckhorst, a man who, while boasting a bigger reputation and a more recognisable name, has been out of work for 11 months, his managerial standing blunted by an ill-fated spell in China.
While Van Bronckhorst was in the middle of a sabbatical, Blessin was guiding an Oostende side that almost suffered relegation in 2019/20 to an unprecedented fifth-place finish, all while instilling a swashbuckling high-octane style of football you would expect from a man who cut his tactical teeth at Red Bull Leipzig.
Could Alexander Blessin replace Steven Gerrard as Rangers manager?
The Daily Record reported at the weekend that Blessin has admirers at Rangers. Interest from one of Britain’s biggest clubs is fitting reward for a man named Belgium’s 2021 coach of the year.
“It was a choice of the players and coaches. That makes you very proud,” admitted Blessin, who was denied a chance to take over from Chris Wilder at Sheffield United by post-Brexit red tape.
“What is a good coach these days? You want to be authentic, you want to have a clear philosophy, you want to convey it in an understandable way and, in the end, it’s the results that count. We put everything together and did a good job last year, nothing more.”
Oostende president Gauthier Ganaye knows, deep down, Blessin will be on his way eventually – although he understandably wants to keep working with the 48-year-old German for as long as possible.
“(Blessin) developed some of the greatest talents in Leipzig. Of course, the day he leaves (Oostende) will be very emotional,” said Ganaye.
“But the most important thing is, when he leaves Oostende, he does it because he was very successful.”
According to Sky, former Rangers defender Van Bronckhorst is in talks regarding a return to Glasgow. He forms part of a three-man shortlist – one understood to not include Frank Lampard.
Interestingly, Blessin worked with Rangers forward Fashion Sakala at Oostende, improving the Zambian to such an extent the Scottish Premiership champions came calling.
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