HOLDING OUT FOR A ZERO

Boss Van Bronckhorst stresses importance of clean sheet as he takes charge of Gers for first time

BY

GIOVANNI VAN BRONCKHORST has declared a ‘zero tolerance’ approach to tonight’s Europa League grudge match with Sparta Prague.

The new Rangers boss will take charge of his side for the first time knowing a two-goal win over the Czechs will clinch a place in the knockout stages with one round of fixtures still to play.

And the Dutchman has demanded a vast improvement from his leaky defence to shut out the visitors – and set up a result which will shut up their notoriously racist support.

Sparta’s ground was shut down by

UEFA after home fans aimed monkey chants at Monaco players during a Champions League qualifier only for the governing body to back down and allow 10,000 school children to attend the first group match against Rangers in September.

And that game was marred by constant jeering of Glen Kamara (inset) who had previously been subjected to vile racist abuse during a previous Euro tie with Sparta’s rivals Slavia Prague.

The simmering bad blood is set to create a powderkeg atmosphere for tonight’s winner-takes-all showdown but Van Bronckhorst has warned his new players not to be distracted from their aim of securing second place in Group A.

He said: “We’ve seen a lot of circumstances in the stands, not only in the games we played against Prague, but you can see it in football.

“It’s definitely a thing we want to get rid of but we also know it’s hard to get rid of. It’s still there.

“But we have to be focused on the match and make sure we are performing well on the pitch. We have to be fully focused on the thing we want to do and that’s win against Prague.”

But, after running the rule over his new team for the first time in Sunday’s Hampden Park thrashing from Hibs, Van Bronckhorst is acutely aware that Rangers will need to tighten up at the back to stand any chance of keeping Sparta at bay.

And he insisted yesterday that his priority target is to oversee a first clean sheet in all competitions since a 2-0 win over Brondby at Ibrox in October.

He went on: “We have to make sure we are defensively much more focused, much more compact. For me, the defending part of the game is for everyone so we trained tactically the last few days to make sure we are well prepared for Prague. The first thing you want to do, not only in Europe but in every game, is to be defensively solid – to keep the zero - and try to win the game by scoring goals.

“That’s the main objective. To defend really well and to make sure we keep the zero.”

Tonight’s tie will see the former Feyenoord boss take a bow in front of a packed Ibrox for the first time since his playing days under Dick Advocaat, more than 20 years ago.

And he said: “I’m looking forward to my first game back in the stadium. Of course, it will bring back many good memories of my time as a player and I can’t wait to feel the atmosphere again in the stadium.

“But I’m old enough to separate my emotions into the focus I need to perform with the team.

“Before the game there might be some mixed feelings but once the whistle goes I will be fully focused on my task, to guide the team to victory.

“I think they are ready. This is a new start for them as well with me coming in as the new manager.”