Giovanni van Bronckhorst admitted his derby post mortem included examining his own decisions as he looks to lift his deflated Rangers squad ahead of the club’s Champions League group stage return.
The Light Blues slumped to a 4-0 drubbing at the hands of Celtic and Van Bronckhorst says they must learn from the Parkhead pummelling. But the manager didn’t spare himself as he searched for answers over what went wrong at the home of their fierce rivals.
Rangers touched down in Van Bronckhorst’s Holland homeland ahead of their opening Group A clash against Ajax in Amsterdam. And, speaking at his pre-match press conference in the Johan Cruyff Arena, he also admitted talks with Jon McLaughlin after a horror show for the keeper.
He said: “After a defeat, the first thing you will do as a manager is reflect on your own decisions and that's where it starts and I want the players to do the same thing. I can't change everything from Saturday and play with a different team. I think you have to keep hold of the way of playing, you keep trusting your players and give them confidence. Many things went wrong on Saturday. I have to keep trusting my players, we have bounced back before from poor results and we will need to do so again.
“You have to feel the emotions after a defeat like that to be able to bounce back hard. We were all disappointed at the weekend, the worst feeling you can have at a game. We have to get back up and be ready for the next game.
“We were straight in on Sunday to reflect and then prepare for Ajax. I have spoken with Jon and the rest of the team about what went wrong, the way we conceded goals and what we have to do to improve and that's a normal process. You cannot change everything every time you have a defeat. You have to stick to your beliefs and your way of playing.
"I have suffered big defeats in my career. You have to learn and develop from your defeats to grow. We have spoken on what we need to improve. After a defeat you are very down which is normal but you have to the look forward and learn from the mistakes. We definitely need to improve from Saturday. We have to learn from our defeats and keep going. I believe in this squad. We have to continue to develop this squad and make us stronger.”
Rangers won on Dutch soil against PSV Eindhoven to reach the group stage and Van Bronckhorst admits they will have to be at their best against Alfred Schreuder’s Eredivisie leaders who boast a perfect record from their opening five league games.
And Van Bronckhorst and his men will come up against a familiar face in Calvin Bassey who made the switch across the North Sea in the summer. He said: “Calvin (Bassey) is a great example of a player who has had tremendous development with us over the last year before leaving for Ajax. I loved working with Calvin. His determination to get better and stronger every day was there to see. A great example to all young players.
“We have to reach a high level already with important Champions League qualification matches. Now, we need to continue to get better and stronger. I am sure we will develop as a team in the coming months. Ajax has a lot of danger, a team with a lot of Champions League experience. It is set up to be a great match for us to reach our level and play against a top team.”
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