Domenico Tedesco’s Bundesliga side carry a 1-0 lead into the second leg of the tie and the Gers will look to overturn that deficit to reach the final in Seville in a fortnight’s time.
The manager also took some time to remember the club’s much-loved and legendary kit man, Jimmy Bell, following the devastating news of his death yesterday.
When asked at this morning’s pre-match press conference, van Bronckhorst commented: “We were all shocked by the news that Jimmy had passed away. It was a hard day for all of us, the atmosphere was really down and we’re still in shock - we talked about him and shared our personal stories.
“We are still mourning, but I think the character of my players is the best I’ve seen in any team that I have coached. I’m sure that tomorrow the character, determination and belief will be there. We’ll do everything to reach the final – we will be ready.
“It was already a really big game but we’re all really determined to go out tomorrow and give everything we can to make everyone proud and to make Jimmy proud.”
Van Bronckhorst reflected on the club’s achievement to reach the semi-final of the Europa League and outlined the importance of feeding off the Ibrox energy in their massive fixture.
He continued: “We all have the same goal, to reach the final. My players and staff do the best that we can to be prepared for tomorrow and the fans are always important for us at home.
“They are a big factor in the atmosphere, I think tomorrow we are going to have a noisy night. We need to overcome this opponent, it will be emotional, but we will be ready when the whistle goes.
“They’ll [Leipzig] do everything that they can to win the game tomorrow, but we will prepare as best as possible. We played them last week, so I have a better view of their players we just have to prepare for a really tough game against a really good opponent.
“Physically we’ve been good, we’ve missed some players due to injuries, but I think a lot comes from your mental strength – we have that.
“We are playing against a strong team, but I think we are able to match them, we will give everything we can to be the winners tomorrow.
“You have goals in your career as a player and as a coach, you want to achieve great things. You dream of coaching teams in finals, that gives you the drive to keep going. We are one step away from reaching the final, our European campaign this year has been great, and we want to make sure that we extend that to the final.
“I’m not thinking about any personal goal, I’m thinking about being successful with the club. For me, the club is the important thing, and it hasn’t been many times that our team has played a final in Europe, we’ll hopefully be joining an elite group. That’s all that matters, we are all here to bring success and trophies to this beautiful club – that’s my main target.”
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