Ruud van Nistelrooy has insisted his PSV team will try to take their Champions League play-off showdown by the scruff of the neck by beating Rangers at Ibrox.
The Eindhoven boss - a good pal of Ibrox manager Gio van Bronckhorst - is ready to put friendship aside for 180 minutes on Tuesday night and is determined to make the crunch first leg in Govan a launchpad for a place at Europe's top table. Van Nistelrooy said: "It’s going to be an exciting game. It’s a wonderful opportunity for us. We have to try and get the maximum out of this match. We need to put everything we have practiced into it.
"I don’t think the important game will be in Eindhoven. The first leg is very important. We are really going to go for it. After that we have the home match and we will deal with it then."
Van Nistelrooy watched his countryman lead Rangers to the Europa League final last term and is adamant the Scots will provide a severe test for his side. He added: "We know what we are facing – a very good team who had a great Europa League run last season all the way to the final and only lost it on penalties.
"They were so close. They have kept many of the players from that squad so they still have that experience. And of course we know that with this support, like our support, it’s fantastic.
"It will lift the team so we know what we are facing. We have to be at our maximum level to get a good result."
Asked about his friendship with Dutch international team-mate van Bronckhorst, the PSV coach added: "We can meet at other times for dinner and hang out.
"Tomorrow we both are defending our own badges and that is the way it is. When you face a friend as a team, as a player, you only want one thing, for your team to win and that will be the case tomorrow."
Dutch international striker Luuk de Jong admitted he can't wait to savour the Ibrox atmosphere. He said: "I’ve seen some of the Rangers games and the atmosphere has been amazing. It’s quite different from other stadiums.
“You have to be ready for everything in these games. Sometimes you don’t know what can happen, a lot of things can happen. It’s not going to be easy, for sure.
“But a lot of things can happen in these European games and it’s two games. We need to get a good result here and then go to Eindhoven for the second leg.”
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