BLUE STEEL
Rangers in mourning for Bell but Gio says strength of character will see them through
GIOVANNI Van Bronckhorst believes the exceptional character of his Rangers players will drive their mission to reach the Europa League final in honour of legendary kitman Jimmy Bell.
The Ibrox manager yesterday admitted he and his squad were still in mourning following Bell’s sudden passing at the age of 69.
Part of the fabric of the club for more than three decades, the loss of Bell has taken a significant emotional toll on preparations for tonight’s Europa League semi-final second leg against RB Leipzig. Van Bronckhorst fully recognises that, yet also feels this group of Rangers players possess a strength of spirit unmatched in his managerial career.
He is confident they can rise to an epic occasion at Ibrox and invest all they have in attempting to overturn a 1-0 first leg deficit. ‘Of course, we are still
mourning and still down,’ said Van Bronckhorst. ‘But I think the character of my players is the best I have seen in any team I coached. ‘I am sure that the character, the belief, the determination will be there. We will do everything to reach the final. I think we will be ready.’ Training was limited on Tuesday as it instead became a day of reflection on Bell’s immense contribution to Rangers. ‘We were all very shocked by the news that Jimmy passed away,’ continued Van Bronckhorst. ‘It was a hard day for all of us and I think everyone was really down, as you can imagine. We didn’t do a lot, we were all at the training ground but the atmosphere was very down and still in shock. ‘I don’t think we had the feeling that we had to keep our spirits high. We talked about him, we shared stories about what we had with Jimmy, our personal stories. ‘Today we look ahead to Leizpig. It was a really big game already but we are all very determined to go out and give everything we can to make everyone proud and especially make Jimmy proud. ‘We are back and we are going to try and prepare as good as possible. I think we will be ready.’ Skipper James Tavernier also described the heartache of losing Bell and, like his manager, said the team were determined to get to the final in memory of the popular kitman. ‘Yesterday was difficult to take,’ said the full-back. ‘We all mourned Jimmy and obviously people are still doing it now, but I know Jimmy wouldn’t want the fuss. He would want us to roll our sleeves up and get stuck in tomorrow. We want to do it for the club, for the fans and for Jimmy.’ Van Bronckhorst claimed he was not yet sure whether Kemar Roofe or Aaron Ramsey would be fit to be involved in tonight’s second leg. The return of striker Roofe following a knee injury would be a particular boost to the club’s hopes of making it to the final in Seville on May 18 against either Eintracht Frankfurt or West Ham. ‘When they got injured we all knew that they will work towards this game,’ added Van Bronckhorst. ‘I will wait as long as possible. But the most important thing is that they are physically able to play a part. That is always the deciding factor. At the moment, I cannot tell you if they are in the squad.’