GIOVANNI VAN BRONCKHORST expects Alfredo Morelos to return to his matchday squad for tomorrow’s Premiership meeting with Kilmarnock in Govan.
Rangers host Derek McInnes’ newly-promoted side in the Ibrox club’s first competitive home match of the season and the Premiership runners-up will be looking to build on last weekend’s opening-day victory at Livingston.
Morelos has not featured for the Glasgow club since March after sustaining a thigh injury whilst on international duty with Colombia but the Rangers manager expects the 26-year-old centre-forward to return to the squad – and hopefully come off the substitutes’ bench – against Killie this weekend.
“We are looking good,” Van Bronckhorst said of his team’s fitness. “I think that the biggest change is that Alfredo will be in the squad.
“He has been training really hard in the last weeks with the team and we think he is ready to be in the squad for tomorrow. Hopefully he can play some minutes as well.”
Van Bronckhorst is looking for a reaction from his players after Rangers suffered a 2-0 defeat to Union Saint-Gilloise in the first leg of their Champions League qualifier on Tuesday night.
The Dutchman expects a stern examination from Killie but believes his squad have enough quality to see off the second-tier champions if they play to their ability – but he expects a big improvement on his side’s midweek showing.
“The first emotion I had was disappointing,” Van Bronckhorst said of the European defeat.
“After the game when I watched it back and we analysed it with the players, we all felt the same – disappointed in our performance.
“The desire and the hunger to turn it around starts tomorrow against Kilmarnock.
“We have to analyse them. We watched the game against Dundee United last week and it was a draw. It is a team that comes from the Championship with a coach that likes to play good football.
“I think Derek McInnes is doing a lovely job at Kilmarnock. I know him personally and I played with him, so it is always nice to see your ex-team-mates getting into management as well. So I am really looking forward to meeting Derek again.
“We have prepared the players well for this game. Our improving point needs to be when we are on the ball – to improve what we didn’t do well on Tuesday.
“We have to improve against Kilmarnock – with our positions, our speed of play, our movement, the runs, creating chances. Those are the areas we have to improve tomorrow.”
As the Ibrox boss alludes to, he will be crossing paths with an old friend on the touchline at Ibrox tomorrow afternoon. Van Bronckhorst and McInnes played alongside each other in Govan a little over two decades ago and the former Netherlands internationalist insists he can see shades of his old team-mate in Kilmarnock’s style of play as he urged his players to build some momentum ahead of the return fixture with Union Saint-Gilloise next week.
Van Bronckhorst explained: “He was a great player in midfield, very comfortable on the ball. You always see a little bit the style of play of the manager in the teams that he has coached.
“He took Kilmarnock from the Championship back to the Premiership so it was a great year for him.
“Of course, they started the league reasonably well with a draw against Dundee United so it will be good to see him back and Kilmarnock is a team that can make it really difficult – like all the teams in Scotland.
“I’m confident when we reach our levels and the standard I expect from my players then we will be fine.
“Every game at home is exciting. Whether it is a friendly, Europe, cup games or league games as well.
“We switch now from the European campaign to the domestic league. We started well last week with a win over Livingston and we want to continue to get three points in every game we play. Tomorrow is another opportunity.
“Again, Ibrox will be full and they will be supporting us with everything they can so we have to make it a positive game – with three points and a positive feeling moving towards Tuesday.”
