GIOVANNI Van Bronckhorst praised his Rangers team after defeating Crvena Zvezda 3-0 at Ibrox this evening in their Europa League fixture.
The Rangers manager expressed his delight to head into the second leg of the tournament with a three-goal lead but insisted that the tie isn’t over.
Speaking to the media following their important victory at Ibrox tonight, he said: “It was a tough and demanding game, there was so much happening throughout the whole game, but I’m happy with the result - I thought we played really well.
“The midfield was key today because we had to change our defensive shape sometimes, John [Lundstrum] had a really good part in that in making sure we put pressure really early and sometimes you need to drop into the back five. I think we were very good on the ball to create chances, and I am more than happy with the result today.
“I think that they are very strong, they are here for a reason [Crvena Zvezda], I’m happy with the result but this tie isn’t over yet. We can be happy with the performance, but next week we have to be there because the environment in Belgrade is similar to what we have here. We have to be ready, but we will park Europe at the moment, and we’ll work and prepare ourselves for Dundee on Sunday.
“There are many goals in this competition, so to score three against Red Star is a great performance, but as I said when we played Dortmund away, we are only half way. When we are there next week, we have a big chance to go to the next round, but it starts all over again.
“I’m really happy to go to Belgrade next week, it’s going to be very hard, but we have a three-goal difference with us. This tie isn’t over yet.”
Van Bronckhorst reflected on his player’s individual and collective performance this evening after gaining the lead heading into the second tie but outlined that the squad must maintain that character for their next match.
He added: “The key in Europe against really tough sides, you have to be dynamic and versatile in the shapes that you play, that’s what I told the players as well if we wanted to go through to the next round, we had to make sure we were ready to make changes.
“I know how important he [Allan McGregor] can be for the team and tonight he showed that with the great save from the penalty but also some crucial saves in Europe that he has made. I’m very pleased for Allan, he is part of the team. We win together and we lose together, I have full confidence in him and my squad. We just have to continue and make sure that we show the same spirit and character in the remainder of the games that we are going to play.”
Rangers are delighted to unveil even more football stars who will come to Ibrox on March 26 to celebrate our 150th anniversary as part of the Weekend of Legends, presented by Unibet. World Legends team include names such as Luís Figo, Claude Makéléle, Iván Córdoba, Ricardo Carvalho, Predrag Mijatović, Gheorge Hagi and Roy Makaay. Alex McLeish will manage the Rangers Legends squad which features light blue heroes such as Giovanni van Bronckhorst, Paul Gascoigne, Sasa Papac, Michael Mols, Kris Boyd, Nikica Jelavić, Ronald De Boer, Alan Hutton, Carlos Cuellar, Pedro Mendez, Lee McCulloch and Jorg Albertz. Additionally, former treble winning Captain and Rangers Hall of Fame inductee Barry Ferguson will be the Rangers Legends Captain.
To mark this incredible occasion, the Rangers Legends squad will wear a specially designed Rangers Legends kit that carries the name of every Rangers captain to lead the club. In addition, the shirt features a traditional collar design reminiscent of some our most famous shirts and our commemorative 150th anniversary crest is proudly embroidered on the chest. This limited-edition shirt is available to pre-order now from The Rangers Store online.