Giovanni van Bronckhorst needs his Rangers players to bounce back from defeat to Celtic urgently.
A massive opportunity to reach the Europa League semi-final is just around the corner for the Ibrox boss.
And while the Premiership title may be slipping into Ange Postecoglou's grasp after Sunday's derby, the Europa League opens another potential route into the Champions League.
Braga looked like the best possible draw to secure passage to the semi-final stage, but Carlos Carvalhal will hope to prove it's a case of be careful what you wish for in Portugal.
If Rangers are to progress, they will have to do it without talisman Alfredo Morelos who is on the sidelines until next season.
Here is every word from Van Bronckhorst 's press conference ahead of the clash ahead of facing Braga.
Are you emphasising the size of the Europa League opportunity to the players?
It’s a big opportunity, it’s not often you play a quarter-final in Europe and you have a chance to reach the semi-finals. We have to work hard and get the performances in tomorrow but also next week to overcome Braga.
I think people were saying the best draw we could have a couple of weeks ago but I think they are a very good team, very strong. They won against Benfica last weekend so it’s a team who are difficult to overcome.
We have a big challenge ahead of us but we relish the chance to go into the semi-finals so we have to go out and perform well to get into the semi-finals.
How big a blow is losing Alfredo Morelos?
Of course, it’s a big blow because he’s our striker. We don’t have him anymore for the season.
We are disappointed, we are, but we know what the problem is and how long he’s out. We have to move on and that’s the only thing we have to do now.
Will you change formation without Morelos?
We prepare for this game how we prepare every game. To see the opponent, their strengths, their weaknesses and then see which players we can use.
Obviously, we don’t have Morelos, we don’t have Hagi, we don’t have Lowry - he’s also not available.
So we just pick a game plan and try to execute it as well as possible.
Do you have the squad to cope without Morelos?
I believe so. As I said before, we’re disappointed by the loss of Morelos but in five questions, four have included Morelos so that means he’s a very important player.
The reality is he’s not there and we have to prepare this game without him and that’s what we’ve done in the last days and that’s what we are focusing on tomorrow as well.
How important is it to see a reaction from the players after Sunday?
First, of course, there’s disappointment. That’s obvious and you have to switch immediately to focus on the game that’s ahead and that’s Braga. That’s what the players have done, that’s what we all have done.
It’s the only thing we can do and we have to do so the game has passed now and we’re looking ahead to the game against Braga.
With the Europa League and Scottish Cup the most likely route to a trophy, will you rotate the squad in the league?
No, we just go out in every game and try to win it with the best possible and strongest team we have. We’re still in all competitions.
Of course the league is going to be more difficult now but we have to keep going so there’s no chance I will play a weakened team on Sunday. The focus now is on Braga and then after that we switch back to St Mirren.
It's rare for a Scottish team to get this far in Europe, have you stressed to the players the opportunity they have?
Yeah, of course. Last year the team performed really well in Europe, being involved in Europe after the winter break which is also very good.
Now we are one stage further and we’ll try to get into the semi-finals. It’s not very often we, as a Scottish team, reach the semi-finals in Europe so that means we are performing well in Europe.
That’s what we want to continue and to overcome Braga as well which will be really difficult. To reach a semi-final ... it’s all to play for and we want to win this tie.
How important could Europa League prize money be to you in the summer?
When you win against Braga and you overcome the tie, there are so many positives out of the win.
The semi-finals spot, also financially, it’s good for the club which will help all of us but in the end.
For me, and for the players the focus is our matches and the two games against Braga and to try to win the tie.
Do your players need to carry the fighting spirit from Belgrade into this game?
Yeah because it’s Europe, it’s very difficult as we’ve seen in all the games we’ve played so far, also against Dortmund and Red Star.
You have to be there in every department. You need on the pitch your tactical awareness, your physical awareness, your way of playing, attacking, defending.
You have to be complete on Thursday to get a good result. We’ve managed to do that so far and now it’s an opportunity to do it again and to win against a strong opponent.
How much pressure do you feel to win one trophy at least? And was that a requirement of the board when you were appointed?
They don’t have to explain the pressure of being manager of Rangers. I’ve been here as a player, I had the pressure when I was manager of Feyenoord so the pressure is always there.
Of course, you need to perform, I want to perform well with my team, the players want to perform well and that’s what we’re trying to do and work hard for.
Of course, at the end you want to have silverware, that’s why you work hard all season and that’s what we are going to do until the end of the season.
What stands out about Braga for you?
I don’t think Braga is a team where you can pick out one player. We watched a lot of matches in Europe and also the game against Benfica.
For me, it’s a strong opponent, Portuguese teams are always strong so it’s difficult to overcome them. Their team spirit is very good, they’re very good in attacking, very quick with quick wingers.
In transition moments they can punish you really quick and defensively we know they are really well organised and don’t give many chances away. For them to overcome Monaco and Sheriff in the last rounds is a very good performance.
We need to be at our best to overcome Braga.
Do you think Braga's inexperience will factor into the game?
I know Rangers played Braga a couple of years ago. They were different teams, I cannot compare those games.
Although Braga has inexperienced players, they perform really well. It’s not about experience, it’s about your performances so they didn’t win against Monaco and Sheriff because they’re an inexperienced team, they were a well-organised team, a strong team, a good collective and I think Braga are all of that.
