Giovanni van Bronckhorst predicts a “hectic” Battle of Britain return as he promised a fight from his Rangers side after their tame Anfield display - but warned his players not to lose their cool after a costly red card in their last Champions League clash at Ibrox.
The Light Blues are looking for their first point and first goal as they go into the second half of their Group A campaign. Van Bronckhorst came in for some criticism for his tactics in the 2-0 loss to the English Premier League giants on Merseyside.
Rangers were accused of being too negative but with a raucous Ibrox crowd behind them on Wednesday, the Dutchman says they will go for it in the way they did against Napoli. While that still ended in a 3-0 defeat to the Italians, the turning point was a red card for James Sands and van Bronckhorst knows they must keep their discipline against Jurgen Klopp’s men.
But he admitted: “We want to start the game well and put pressure on our opponents from the first whistle. We need to attack but we also need to defend really well against a good side. I expect a hectic game. The Ibrox crowd will definitely push us on towards another good performance.
“It’s different when you play away. You don’t want to go to Anfield and open up all spaces for Liverpool to exploit. You want to be close to them going into the second half. We did that really well.
“We all know Liverpool really well. We played against a strong side last week. We have to find more moments in the game to be dangerous. Our approach will be different as we need points. We were in the game against Napoli until the red card. That game gives us confidence.
“We have a team that is capable, we have to be really focused in the transition moments. We have to be ready to defend and be clinical in our dangerous moments. It’s always important to make the correct decisions in the match. It will be a hectic game, Liverpool are a team with a lot of runners and pace. We have to be strong mentally also, to stay with the eleven and get stronger as the game proceeds.”
Van Bronckhorst - whose only fresh injury concern is over Glen Kamara - has frequently been asked about the prospect of playing Antonio Colak and Alfredo Morelos in a two-pronged attack. It’s unlikely in Europe but he said: “We have two natural goal scorers with different styles of play. We will start with eleven players that I think are capable of a positive result.”
Meanwhile, Manchester United, Newcastle United and Leeds United are reportedly interested in Leon King. Van Bronckhorst said: “Leon King is a player that is developing really well. He is performing rally well in the minutes he has had. He is only 18 and is really open for coaching and working hard to better himself, his future is very bright."
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