Dutchman delighted to be back with a win

GIOVANNI van Brocnkhorst shared his pride after his players bounced back from the disappointment of the weekend’s Premier Sports Cup semi-final defeat to secure their spot in the Europa League knockout stages.

Rangers put the 3-1 loss to Hibs at Hampden in the past with a comfortable win over Sparta Prague in the new manager’s first match in charge.

And quizzed on the most pleasing aspect of the performance Van Bronckhorst stated: “everything”.

He told BT Sport: “I think everything, from the first minute on we were in the game, we were pressing them, we had a good rhythm of play and created chances. We created enough chances in the first half to win the game.

“I was very proud of the guys, they kept pushing for the win. And in the end the 2-0 will see us through.”

And reflecting on the bounce back after Sunday’s frustration, Van Bronckhorst added: “It’s never nice to lose but with a lot of games to be played we could give a good match in the Europa League.

“Of course the guys were down but they were also very determined to get a good result and they did.”

But Steven Davis, who was impressive in midfield against the Czech side insisted while he’s delighted by progress in continental competition, it doesn’t make up for the Hampden agony at the weekend.

After securing Europa League progress he reflected on the domestic cup exit explaining: “There is no getting over it, it was a major disappointment.

“It’s obviously great that we’ve qualified but it doesn’t really make things any better for us because we want to do well in domestic cups this year.

“It’s always important to bounce back and we did that tonight. It’s a great achievement to get to the next stage.”