Glasgow Rangers are yet to pull the trigger with regards to the sacking of Giovanni van Bronckhorst at Ibrox, although the Dutchman remains under intense pressure with the Gers following what's been a miserable start to the season thus far.

The Glasgow side went into the World Cup break having slipped to nine points behind their bitter rivals in the Scottish Premiership table, with Ange Postecoglou's side now seemingly on their way to retaining their league crown ahead of Rangers.

The Gers were notably held away to St Mirren at the weekend to maintain the doom and gloom surrounding the club, with that disappointing result having come just a week on from Van Bronckhorst's men having slipped up against St Johnstone in Perth.

That limp start to the season on the domestic front has been compounded by what was a truly dismal Champions League campaign, with the Light Blues finishing bottom of the pile after losing all six games in the competition.

Supporters had been eagerly awaiting a return to life on the continent's biggest stage after a 12-year absence, only to witness their club suffer the embarrassment of completing the worst record in the group phase in the tournament's history.

Unsurprisingly, that mix of woes - which also includes a 4-0 defeat away to the Hoops earlier this season - has cranked up the pressure on the man in the dugout, with pundit Graeme Souness suggesting it will be "difficult for him to recover" moving forward.

Despite that uncertainty, the latest suggestion is that the former Feyenoord boss will still be in place when club action resumes at the end of next month, having perhaps built up goodwill with the board after guiding his side to Scottish Cup glory last season, as well as securing passage to the Europa League final.

If the powers-that-be are to part ways with the 47-year-old any time soon, the belief is that Mick Beale could be the 'top target' to replace him, as per Football Insider, with the Englishman having previously worked at the club as assistant to Van Bronckhorst's predecessor, Steven Gerrard.

As pundit Alan Hutton stated, the 42-year-old could well help to bring back that "winning mentality" to Ibrox having played his part in the title success under Gerrard during the 2020/21 campaign.

While Beale was the number two at the time, he was seemingly the "brains behind" the operation, according to former Gers striker Kyle Lafferty, with the latter man also stating that "tactically he's amazing".

That sentiment was echoed by Gerrard himself, with the former England international having previously noted: “It would take me 15 to 20 years to become as good as Michael Beale as an on-pitch coach, delivering sessions on a daily basis, so I let Mick be Mick Beale because he’s the expert.”

Although there may be doubts over his ability to make the step up to the top job in Glasgow amid his managerial inexperience, Beale has made a fine start to life in his first gig as the main man in England, with his QPR side seventh in the table.

Clearly a tactician who is highly regarded in the game, the Bromley-born visionary was only recently close to taking over at Premier League bottom club, Wolverhampton Wanderers, although ultimately opted to stay put in his present home.

Whether he can be tempted to return north of the border to replace Van Bronckhorst at the helm remains to be seen, although it could well be a no-brainer as far as Rangers are concerned such are his coaching credentials and previous ties to the club.