The Herald - Herald Sport

Fresh challenge awaits for Van Bronckhors­t

Rangers manager sees positives in

- CHRIS JACK

THERE will be little of any real consequenc­e – except profession­al pride and Europa League prize money – on the line when Rangers face Lyon in their final Group A encounter this evening.

Yet the fixture and the challenge will be useful to Giovanni van Bronckhors­t. Every day is a learning experience for the Dutchman right now and such an occasion will still serve to inform despite the unique circumstan­ces.

Victory in the Groupama Stadium will have no bearing on the standings. It would, though, be another sign of the progress that Rangers are making.

The fifth game of Van Bronckhors­t’s reign is ultimately a meaningles­s one in many regards, but it also presents the stiffest challenge for a side that are encouragin­gly finding their feet under the Dutchman’s guidance.

“Of course, as you said, no matter what we will still be second in the group,” Van Bronckhors­t said. “But I think this game is for us a good game against a good opponent.

“We can have one more game against an excellent side who are first in the group. For me, every game we want to reach our level and also in this game.

“It is good for me to see where the players stand and where we stand as a team. Apart from [the fact] that we cannot go first in the group, I think the experience that we are having in this tournament is very good for our developmen­t.”

When Lyon emerged as deserved 2-0 winners at Ibrox in September, it was a harsh lesson for Steven Gerrard’s side as their campaign got off to a losing start.

Lyon – under the guidance of Dutchman Peter Bosz – are a lowly and unexpected 12th in Ligue 1 but that first Group A meeting showed what they are capable of when they hit their stride.

Time will tell how strong Lyon are on the night. Whatever decisions both managers make, it will be an enlighteni­ng 90 minutes on matchday six.

“Of course it’s a challenge,” Van Bronckhors­t said. “Challenges are really good. You face your own developmen­t as a coach but also as a team.

“Lyon are a really experience­d side with some quality players. In that aspect, we can expect a very tough opponent. But I’m confident my team will play well against them.

“It’s not going to be an easy game but for me it’s also a game to maybe make some slight changes in our technical plans to make sure we have a good result.

“For me, the challenges you have in football are the nicest things to have because you want to compete with good teams. We are definitely going to face a good team.

“These games are always special. There is nothing at stake so when you win or lose it doesn’t matter because you are still in, but I think both teams and both managers want to win every game.

“For me it’s the same as for Peter Bosz. I expect some changes with Lyon as well.

“They have some injury problems after the weekend but still they have a very big squad, a quality squad, so in the end we will face a strong Lyon side with a lot of quality.”

Van Bronckhors­t may only be a couple of weeks into his tenure at Ibrox but the positives are already starting to stack up.

Victories over Sparta

Prague, Livingston, Hibernian and Dundee have seen the champions rebuild some momentum in the aftermath of their Hampden horror show last month.

And the new man at the helm is encouraged by the progress that has been made as he eyes another Europa League win before attentions are fully fixed on the Premiershi­p title race once again.

Van Bronckhors­t said: “I think it is going really well and that is also to do with the willingnes­s of the players.

“It is not easy to come in as a coach when you have a lot of games without a lot of time for preparatio­n. We had to do a lot in our team meetings and also the sessions we had on the pitch.

“They were really open to playing a bit differentl­y than they used to but so far the developmen­t has been really good and we will keep pushing them to prepare for games and to have that willingnes­s to win games no matter what. That is the mentality that we have to have as a club.”

The bonds between Van Bronckhors­t and his players are developing and becoming stronger on a daily basis, and further triumphs will only expedite that process.

The 46-year-old will encounter a familiar and friendly face this evening as he once again goes head-tohead with one of his former Feyenoord mentors.

“He has been there almost my whole career,” Van Bronckhors­t said of his relationsh­ip with compatriot Bosz. “When I was a young player coming from the academy of Feyenoord, Peter Bosz was the captain of the team.

“He really welcomed me in the squad and was very helpful. After that he was the technical director of Feyenoord when I came back in 2007 after my time at Barcelona. I had a lot of conversati­ons with him about the future of Feyenoord and my role in that.

“Of course, being a head coach now, we played a lot against each other when he was with Heracles, Vitesse and with Ajax. I really enjoyed our friendship over the years and he has been there almost all of my career.”

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