“Good luck.”

That was the message Barcelona boss Hansi Flick sent to Danny Rohl after congratulating him on his appointment as Rangers’ new head coach.

And boy is he going to need it… Rangers have made one of their worst-ever starts to a season.

They are sixth in the Scottish Premiership, having won just one league game, and are yet to pick up a point in the Europa League after two matches.

The club’s issues extend beyond the pitch too, with supporters engaged in a series of protests against CEO Patrick Stewart and sporting director Kevin Thelwell.

Those frustrations will have only been heightened by a lengthy 15-day search for a new head coach in which deals for both former manager Steven Gerrard and former player Kevin Muscat collapsed before Rohl eventually got the job, despite withdrawing from the process days earlier.

The new Rangers boss regularly seeks advice from Flick on football and private matters. He may need help from his former mentor on both of those as he navigates the early stages of his Ibrox tenure.

Rohl worked under the Barcelona manager as an assistant at the German national team and at Bayern Munich, where they won seven trophies together across two seasons, including the Champions League.

“I’m very close still with Hansi Flick, I think we speak many times in a month,” Rohl told Sky Sports News. “I follow his way, he follows my way.

“If I need something, then I can ask him. I think this is strong, we have a good relationship, and we’ve worked four years in a row together and we’ve won a lot of good titles together.

“My former managers like Ralf Rangnick and Ralph Hassenhutl, you get from every coach something different, and this is great.

“I think in the last 16 years I took all the information, collected it and prepared for now the next big step in my career.

“He (Flick) wrote me a message, ‘good luck and all the best’, and said that he’s very happy that I joined this club now and he will cross his fingers.

“It’s always great to have such a message from such an experienced coach. It’s also good to know when you need a call, then you can call him, and you can speak about football or sometimes personal or private things.”

Who will form Rohl’s backroom team?

The 36-year-old confirmed he is closing in on finalising his backroom team, with a former Rangers player expected to join the setup at Ibrox.

“I think two guys from Germany will follow me, and one extra we will work on,” he added.

“I will have an assistant coach off the pitch, and I will have an assistant coach on the pitch.

“For me it’s important, because of the experience I got in the last two years with Chris Powell [at Sheffield Wednesday], to get a former player as an assistant coach with a background from here.

“it’s very important to understand the league, the fans, all those things, and it could be very helpful.

“We have some ideas [as to who that may be], and now we have to finalise as soon as possible, because it’s important that I have my staff very early together.”

Does Rohl understand the Ibrox demands?

One criticism from fans towards former boss Russell Martin – who was sacked after just 123 days – was that he didn’t understand the demands of Rangers and the pressure that the head coach job came with.

However, having worked under Flick at Bayern Munich and the German national team, Rohl knows anything other than a win at Rangers will not suffice.

“I think this is what we have to understand now, it’s about how we can win games, and this is the most important key point.

“We need wins, because with every win, the self-confidence goes higher up.

“We can create something, and then we can speak about how attractive we win those games, and this is what I will try as soon as possible.

“I think when you commit to such a club, you have to understand the demands of the club.

“A draw is not enough, it’s about a win, and I’m very ambitious because I had the experience in the last couple of years of what it means to win titles.

“I think this is always great when you’ve got something and you’ve earned something for your hard work after a season, and I think this is what we do here as well.”

How much control will Rohl have over transfers?

Questions have been asked about the recruitment model at Ibrox, with around £34m spent in the summer on 14 players.

However, sporting director Kevin Thelwell insists he will never sign a player without the head coach’s approval.

With chairman Andrew Cavenagh telling Sky Sports News that Rohl will get more money in January to bolster the squad, the 36-year-old is relaxed over the process of adding to his group.

“It will never be a one-man show,” he said.

“I think it is important to understand that we [me and the board] are connected to each other. It’s about being ready together and finding the right players for the style of football.

“This is possible when you have good communication and are very open-minded.”