Ibrox icon Brian Laudrup is banking on a trio of stars to have games of their lives – and send Rangers racing into the Champions League group stage.
Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s side face the Dutch giants in the first leg of the playoff tonight in what will be a raucous atmosphere on the southside of Glasgow. Laudrup knows the players will need to be on point against Ruud van Nistelrooy’s men, with little margin of error available.
And the former winger has picked out three key men he believes must be at the top of their game so the Dutch can be vanquished. Laudrup is counting on John Lundstram – a huge influence in Rangers’ march to last season’s Europa League Final – to again be pivotal. He said: "Against PSV Eindhoven, I will be looking to big-game players such as Lundstram. When Lundstram plays in European football, he really comes alive. That's why he is trusted so much on the big occasion by van Bronckhorst."
But Laudrup also insists he is expecting big things from another two players in van Bronckhorst’s squad. He added in his Daily Mail column: "I would look also at Ryan Kent. We all know that when Kent is fit, he has something that only he at Ibrox can deliver and that's the ability to take players on, create chances and score goals.
"With his tricks and his pace, Kent could be vital. But another player who could have a big say against PSV is young Malik Tillman. The 20-year-old scored what proved the decisive goal against Union Saint-Gilloise in the 3-0 win at Ibrox last week as Rangers made history by overcoming a 2-0 deficit to go through 3-2 on aggregate.
"I watched Tillman after the Union game and he looked in awe of Ibrox. He was realising just how big a club Rangers is. Now his confidence is up. He knows he is capable of scoring big goals. After that header against Union, he scored another against St Johnstone in Saturday's 4-0 win at Ibrox.
"Tillman is a strong boy who is good on the ball. He's got excellent technique and he's very, very good in the air, I have to say. He's got a bit of everything, really. He can take players on and create but in a different way to Kent.
"It's very encouraging to see him doing so well in the early days of his Rangers career. As I've mentioned before, it can take players time to settle when they arrive at a new club in a new country.
"On top of that, it can be very tough when you arrive and you are playing straight away in some of the most important games of the whole season. So for the manager to see one of his new signings becoming a very important player for the team so early is vital and it will be pleasing for Van Bronckhorst. There are maybe parallels with Tillman, who arrived on a season-long loan from Bayern Munich with an option to buy, and Jota, who spent last season on loan at Celtic from Benfica before making the move permanent."
