Giovanni van Bronckhorst has revealed he has reached out to his axed predecessor at Feyenoord, Robin van Persie, because he knows how it feels to be sacked at Rangers.
The Dutch coach has made an emotional return to the Rotterdam club to take charge again for a second spell, after he left Liverpool at the end of the season following Arne Slot's dismissal.
He started and ended his playing career at Feyenoord after successful stints at Rangers, Arsenal and Barcelona and took over from van Persie after he was sacked.
And the 51-year-old admits he has plenty of sympathy for the ex-Arsenal and Manchester United star because the same thing happened to him at Ibrox and with Besiktas.
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He said: "Unfortunately, things turned out the way they did for Robin. I have no influence on that, but the feeling is very familiar.
"I experienced that at Besiktas and Rangers, of course. Unfortunately, that is part of being a coach.
"I tried to phone him but he was at a restaurant, but I will phone him again.
"I am a different coach now. You learn something new every day from working with players who have already achieved everything.
"When I was approached, I was surprised.
"But this is my club and my city, after all. And when you spend a year abroad without family, you naturally start to miss them too. Now I want to be successful here again.
"We want to have all your players available. I hope that will go better than it did at Liverpool here at Feyenoord.”
