Rangers might need the comeback to end all comebacks to play European football beyond Christmas but laid-back Gio van Bronckhorst reckons that will be "easy."
The Dutchman's tongue was of course firmly in cheek when asked about his side's chances of progress but he stopped short of committing to a Hail Mary performance in a desperate bid to make up ground. He ruled out starting Antonio Colak and Alfredo Morelos together, not preparing to gamble on a miraculous comeback and risk another Champions League trouncing.
In reality, any kind of positive result will do Rangers as they look to restore some pride and avoid the indignity of finishing as the worst ever group stage team in the competition's history. It would also help the morale in the squad who have taken a bruising to the ego but won't have downed tools for their European send off at a sold-out Ibrox on Tuesday night.
It's a massive task to round off the group stage campaign. Here is everything Van Bronckhorst had to say ahead of the Champions League clash.
Injury update?
"We have Kamara coming back in the squad. Lundstram is not available because of suspension.
"Yilmaz will not be ready. He will be out for several weeks. He has a hamstring injury. It will definitely be after the World Cup. I don’t know how long exactly but he will not be involved in the remaining games until the break.
"Ben Davies didn’t train. Hopefully he will be involved at the weekend but tomorrow will be too early."
Difference in two teams since matchday one?
"I can only speak of my team. Obviously we have had a difficult run in the Champions League and we have last chance tomorrow to have a positive result.
"So that’s what we are trying to do. That’s all that matters to us tomorrow. I only want to talk about my team."
How damaging would it be to finish with no wins or zero points?
"It would be disappointing, of course. We knew the opposition we are facing in the Champions League is from a much higher level than we faced last season. You can see in all the games we’ve played, it’s been really tough.
"Once we qualified in Holland against PSV, I knew it was going to be a really tough European season. I also had it with my old team Feyenoord in the Champions League. We only got the first three points in the last game at home to Napoli, so it was a similar experience.
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"So, yeah, you want to always have the highest level of opponents. That’s why you are a top player and a club. You want to be involved in the highest level even though it means the opposition is quite strong.
"So it would be disappointing not to get any points. We still have one more game to play. But then we have to switch back to all the domestic competitions we are still involved in.
What would it mean to get one point - or three?
"It would be positive. The group is really hard. You can see Ajax so far only have three points. Last year they had a 100 per cent record in the Champions League (group stage). Tomorrow we can even their points if we win.
"So that shows you the level Napoli and Liverpool have shown in this group. It’s still going to be a really hard game because Ajax is a very good team.
"I certainly do (think we can win). At home against both Napoli and Liverpool it went well but we didn’t manage to keep it up for the full 90 minutes. We played an hour of competitive football but the last half hour it didn’t go well. Tomorrow it is 90 minutes and we are going to go for it."
Do you need your best performance of the season?
"We need our form to be there. In Europe, you have to be focused for 90 minutes. A lot of moments in this campaign, we have been punished for not being 100 per cent over the 90 minutes.
‘Against Napoli, with the sending-off and the three penalties, it’s always hard. But the first 60 or 65 minutes we were well in the game. Against Liverpool, we were only 65 minutes. With the substitutions and injuries we had, we dropped and they punished us big time.
"We need to have our level but the level for 90 minutes. That’s what expected and needed in the Champions League."
Positives from Aberdeen?
"Last weekend went really well against Aberdeen. It was a great result and we had momentum. The game on Saturday was not like it was against the other teams. The way in which we won was the way we want to keep playing."
In your mind, do you think Rangers should be able to compete with Ajax?
"Compete with Ajax? A team that has almost played the final and for five or six years in a row have been doing well in Europe? We have been doing well in Europe the last three years, we are still not at the same level as Ajax.
"We are developing and that’s the way it is. It is the way the differences are in Europe at the moment. If you see Ajax, the players overall are from a higher level, their budget is higher.
"They bought players for 100 million. They bought a not bad defender from us last season. We cannot compare ourselves to Ajax but we can compete with them on the day, especially at home at Ibrox."
Do you expect to win at home, even given the disparity?
"Expect to win in the Champions League? No one can expect to win. Not one team in Europe who goes on the pitch can say, OK we expect to win.
"The level is so hard and so competitive, if you look at all the results in Europe even the big teams, they are not assured of winning games, so why should we go on the pitch and expect to win against Ajax?
"We are going to work hard for it. We are going to give a good a game against them. That is different. But our approach should be humble. And we know we can be strong at home because we showed that this season and also last season.
"But it is not easy to get a result. You have to really work hard for it and do not go into the game and just expect to win the game."
What have you learned about Rangers team?
"What I didn’t know about my team. Well, it is a whole different level. How many players in my team have played Champions League? That was a question!
"We have players who have come from the Championship, or even played in the B team, it is a whole different level. I have experienced the level as a player. I remember my first experience with Feyenoord coming to play against Juventus in my first year and I didn’t realise how high the level was in Europe until I played against Zidane and Deschamps and Del Piero and then I knew, wow, this is a different level.
"This is the level I want to reach. And my players have faced the same experience this season."
Lot of talk Morelos or Colak, or both, with five goals required…
"Five goals will be easy! But no (we won't start both)."
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