The Light Blues will host Ruud van Nistelrooy’s side at a sold-out Ibrox tonight for their first leg of the play-off round in the tournament, and the Dutchman has again emphasised the importance that the Gers support play in creating a special atmosphere as the squad look to take a dominant lead into next week’s second tie.
Speaking at this afternoon’s press conference ahead of the anticipated match, he said: “The fans are a big influence, when you play away from home and the support is really there – it’s a different environment, we’ve seen all the teams that have come here and felt that.
“We have to make sure that the performance is there and combined with the atmosphere that Ibrox has on European nights, we should have a good result. We have to take into account the quality of our opponent and prepare well and tactically what we want.
“The first game that I played at home since joining was Sparta Prague in the Europa League and the atmosphere was fantastic. Every game we played after that the atmosphere was there, I have no doubt in my mind that tomorrow will be the same.
“It’s the same as the first game and you want to have a good result to take with you in the second game which is the same when you play away.
"Of course, when you’re at home this is what you’ll try to do, we’ll have everyone available for tomorrow – James Sands and Ryan Kent are back in the squad, we’re looking forward to the challenges that we face tomorrow and next week.”
The boss took time to recognise the challenges that will be presented in tomorrow evening’s match but insisted that his squad must focus on their own game to impact the fixture positively.
He added: “We’ve seen a lot of games from them [PSV] this season, they have new additions to the squad and a new coach.
"They play a little bit different from last year, you can see that they have a lot of experience. They’re a good side, they won the Super Cup – we’ll be facing a very good opponent.
“We have to make sure that we recognise their approach, the most important thing is how we start the game and how we want to play.
"It makes it easier for us if we have a good start, that’s what we always want to do at home. We’re going to prepare the team well for every scenario and style of play that they will use.
“They’re a recognised team in Europe, they play Champions League football and are a team who are always challenging for the Dutch title. You cannot compare PSV with other teams, this is a game with a lot of pressure for both teams – we’ll have to control that as well.”
With the first leg being played at home tomorrow night, the boss outlined that the squad must put on a strong performance to carry a dominant lead to the Philips Stadion next week in the second leg.
He said: “For me, it isn’t more pressure because we are playing to win and it’s the same for my players.
"The rewards after the game are bigger and that’s the pressure, but you don’t have to take that into the game – you need to concentrate on your strengths and your ability to play well and overcome PSV in two games.
“You want to still be in the tie or have an advantage when you play the second game away from home, we have to be in good condition and at the top of our game because the last tie against Union [Saint-Gilloise] we were under par when we were playing away.
"We had to give everything to make sure that we get through. Again, against PSV we have to be there for two games, otherwise you will struggle to go through.
“You want to have a positive performance, going through to the group stages is our main objective. I have to concentrate on the game plan and the game that we play, we have to be on top of our game for two nights.
“I’m looking forward to it, it’s a big match and you want big games in your career, you want challenges – it’s a big challenge for us.”
Van Bronckhorst expressed his emotions as the squad compete for the chance to progress to the group stage of the Champions League and insisted the club’s aim to maintain their position to play at the highest level in the tournament each season.
He continued “I’ve coached before in the Champions League, it’s a tournament that you want to be involved with as a club, player, and coach – it’s one of the best tournaments in club football in the world.
“For me, I came here and wanted to play again on the highest level, that’s the Champions League. The main thing for me is to qualify and to bring the club back into the biggest stage of European football.
“That’s my goal and the club’s goal, we are playing European football every season and last season was the Europa League.
"No doubt in my mind that every year we are involved in European football, we want to be part of Champions League, that has to be the goal and that’s why we work hard.
"That doesn’t mean we’ll play every year in Champions League, but the desire we want to show everyone is to be in that tournament.
“It’s going to be a big game for all of us, for both clubs because we all want to be in Champions League but there’s only one ticket left in this tie.
"I’m sure you’re going to see a PSV team doing everything they can to get through, and you’re going to see a Rangers team that’ll do everything to get through. I think that there’s all ingredients of two good games, the winner will take it all.”
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