Lee Johnson says Rangers are “just not as good” as Celtic and sacked Giovanni van Bronckhorst too soon as he tried to close the gap between them.
Van Bronckhorst was recently replaced by former coach Michael Beale, despite the Dutchman leading Rangers to the Europa League final last season and then guiding them through the Champions League qualifiers. Beale has already said that he believes Rangers’ squad is as strong as Celtic’s, but Hibs’ manager disagrees.
“Celtic are a top side and they [Rangers] are chasing those guys,” he said. “You look at it from the outside; they are just not as good. Simple as that.
“I’m not there to judge; I don’t watch every game. All I see is a good man [Van Bronckhorst] who’s worked his socks off and lost his job, and a good coaching staff.”
Johnson believes Van Bronckhorst deserved two more transfer windows to transform the squad he inherited from Steven Gerrard a year ago, and says that it will take him the same period to put his stamp on Hibs.
The 41-year-old was appointed as Shaun Maloney’s successor in May, but he is under pressure after six defeats in seven league games before the World Cup, and he takes his team to Ibrox on Thursday night as the Premiership resumes.
“I need four windows to have a 22/24-man squad with all ‘Lee Johnson-Hibs players’,” he added. “It’s what it takes to move in and move out and we need to move players out; there’s no doubt about that.
“We need to move some players in the first-team squad out and we need to allow younger players to go and forge a career. That’s a lot harder than getting players in because if they are not playing or they are overpaid or anything like that has gone on, it costs the club money in the end.”
Johnson added that some Premiership sides target damage limitation when they visit Celtic and Rangers, but he is determined not to do that despite a 6-1 defeat at Celtic Park on October 15.
