When it comes to Champions League heartache and Rangers, Gio van Bronckhorst believes it’s better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.
He’s also clearly a glass half-full kind of guy and a manager who believes in a sense of perspective. Not even being one defeat away from racking up the worst group-stage performance in history has deterred the Ibrox boss from embracing everything about Europe’s elite competition. It’s clear he would prefer to suffer against the best than be downgraded into the more forgiving Europa League environment.
As Aberdeen come calling today for a Premiership clash which has all the ingredients to crank up the pressure on him, Van Bronckhorst is adamant that striving to compete at the top will never be pointless. He said: “I can never say to my guys: ‘Let’s qualify for the Europa League, don’t try to be in the Champions League.’ It’s impossible.
