THE old saying goes that professionals would rather play than train. It will be put to the test tonight.
While Rangers were having to dig deep in the face of adversity at Easter Road on Saturday, Ruud van Nistelrooy was able to provide his PSV Eindhoven side with a far less hectic and chaotic afternoon of action.
The Dutchman watched on as his Champions League rivals - reduced to nine men and unable to hold onto victory - dropped their first points of the Premiership campaign at the end of a barnstorming clash with Hibernian.
PSV were still put through their paces but the decision from the Eredivisie to postpone the league fixture with FC Volendam ensured a very different preparation ahead of the play-off second leg.
It is time that Van Nistelrooy has put to good use. The next 90 minutes will tell if Rangers pay the price for their Premiership endeavours and PSV are able to pick up where they left off.
Van Nistelrooy said: "That's always the question. We had our preparation and Rangers had theirs.
"In the end it will all be decided. And the result will count. After the result, the analysis will be done.
"That's the way it works. We thought this was the best thing for our team with the games we've played so far and the games we still have to play until November 12.
"It's all squeezed in, games every three days, so we have to protect the players.
"It's not only about the Rangers game. It's also about the coming weeks where we have to play every three days, travel, recover, etc. So the decision also took in the bigger picture.
"You can do two things. You can give the players some rest to recover from the busy schedule.
"But we also have time to train and make the team better in the parts where we think we can improve.
"Of course the last game we played away at Rangers was a game with a lot of information about us as a team.
"Some excellent things we saw, some things to work on. So now we've had time to go out and train properly. So we did that."
Rangers arrived in Eindhoven with their Champions League dreams still alive but facing a difficult reality ahead of an all-or-nothing outing at the Philips Stadion.
Goals from Antonio Colak and Tom Lawrence were ultimately not enough to give Giovanni van Bronckhorst's side a first leg advantage at Ibrox last week.
It is PSV who have the upper hand in the tie. Victory would be a significant achievement for Van Nistelrooy in his first campaign as boss but he has downplayed the occasion from a personal perspective.
Van Nistelrooy said: "It is not about me. Totally not. For me it is important that the team develops in the level where we want to be.
"In the end, it matters how good we are as a team and it will show if we are there yet to join that competition. I think we are doing well so far and it is one game.
"In that sense, I look at it like that. I don’t make it any bigger or smaller than that.
"I think the most important thing is to know what the players feel in these games and what the players need. For me it is important as a manager and a coach to help the team where necessary.
"It can be on a football and tactical and technical side or it can be in the mental side. For me, I will use every experience that I had in my life as a person and a player to help this team here reach their full potential.
"So far it has been great how they have shown themselves as one team and a unit in good moments and bad moments. It is great to work with these players."
