Dick Advocaat admits he needed to hand the Feyenoord captaincy to Steven Berghuis because the atmosphere at the club felt like a funeral.
The former Rangers boss stripped Eric Botteghin of the armband and handed it to the Dutch international ahead of their win over VVV Venlo.
The 72-year-old famously stripped Lorenzo Amoruso of the captain's role at Ibrox and handed it to Barry Ferguson but insists this was a much-needed move.
Berghuis got a goal in the 3-0 win to immediately repay his manager, who was starting his 23rd job at a manager.
They face Rangers later this month in the Europa League at De Kuip and Advocaat said: "When I walked into the dressing room for the first time I thought the players were going to a funeral. I couldn't believe how quiet it was.
"So I told Steven he now has the responsibility not only on the pitch, but also in the dressing room to pick the players up and get some energy back in the place.
"It was good to be back and I'm happy to get the win, but there's a lot of work to do.
"At least we looked strong defensively, but we should have scored more goals. It's a base from which we can build going into the coming weeks."
