Van Bronckhorst savours win at Livi – but says side must improve

Rangers manager Giovanni van Bronckhorst admitted to an element of relief after overseeing victory in his first league match in charge.

The Scottish champions reinforced their position at the top of the Premiership table with a 3-1 win at Livingston.

However, it was not straightforward for Rangers as, after early goals from Scott Arfield and Joe Aribo put them in command, they were pegged back by Bruce Anderson’s goal for Livingston.

It was not until substitute Fashion Sakala headed home in the 78th minute that van Bronckhorst felt able to relax and savour his second win in two matches in charge after Thursday’s 2-0 Europa League victory over Sparta Prague.

“I think we controlled the game,” said van Bronckhorst. “We had a great start in the first 20, 25 minutes and scored two goals. We knew the chances would come with Scott in that manner and making his runs into the spaces.

“The first goal was excellent, the second goal was also good – good positional game from us and a great shot by Joe. After that we lost a little bit of the intention of playing and also the speed of play.

“We were a bit sloppy and of course the 2-1 made it a real game. In the second half we controlled it more, we didn’t give any chances away. If you control so much of the game you need to make sure you finish the game as early as possible and we kept Livingston too long in the game.

“When Sakala scored, it was a relief and after that we kept the ball and didn’t give any chances to play anymore.”

Rangers had developed a habit of conceding first under van Bronckhorst’s predecessor Steven Gerrard and the Dutchman is keen to ensure his players make a more vibrant start to games. “It is [a message to get across] because you know if you go to these games, away to Livingston can be very hard,” he said.

“They can be physical, they play a lot of long balls. It was important to start well and defend the second ball really good. Overall, it has been a good performance. Of course we will always have departments we can improve, but we will do that.”

3 WINNING START: SEE PULLOUT