It's been a top week in Europe for Giovanni van Bronckhorst.
Rangers saw off Borussia Dortmund in a massive 6-4 victory to reach the last 16 of the Europa League.
The Premiership champions have now face off against Red Star Belgrade next month to continue their adventure in the competition.
But the focus turns to the title race on Sunday as Gio van Bronckhorst looks to see off Motherwell and close the gap on Celtic.
Ahead of the clash with The Steelmen Aaron Ramsey, Amad Diallo and Alfredo Morelos were all on the agenda.
Every word of the press conference
How did Dortmund compare to you other achievements in football?
Very high, because you see the atmosphere, we knew it was going to be a big draw against Dortmund and if you look back to the two games I think we did excellent.
We knew it was going to be hard but I think we had every good moments in both games. Also, moments where we had to dig deep.
In the end, I think it is a historic win against one of the big teams in Europe so it’s very satisfying for all of us. The performance we had was immense.
What do you think of facing Red Star Belgrade in the last 16?
To overcome Dortmund will give us confidence because we competed against one of the best and went through.
(Red Star) they were first in the group in the Europa League, so it means they’re a strong team.
We will prepare our team as always to give them as much information as possible and do everything to make sure we progress into the next round.
Do you feel the the draw at Ibrox against Dortmund is a statement result?
You always have to show your ambition no matter who you play against. You have to have the belief.
We’ve shown that in the games we’ve played against Dortmund. You know how special European football can be for Rangers. I had the experience as a player, I feel it now as the manager.
These are memories you’ll take with you for your whole life and that’s the same memory I have from playing against Parma and in the Champions League, it’s the moments you work hard for.
You want to feel these moments in Europe as a player and coach. Also as fans as well. You can see the atmosphere at Ibrox yesterday was fantastic.
It makes the difference for my players to compete in this atmosphere and I’m sure that in the home game against Ref Star it will be the same atmosphere.
Is it a case of asking your players to carry that level into the league?
Of course, you want to play this way in every game you play in.
We go back now to the domestic league so we cannot afford another points drop, we have to have the same level of play.
Yesterday we created good chances to score, we scored twice and that’s our aim for Sunday also. In the end, we have to have the three points.
Is it tough to switch back to domestic football after Europe?
I don’t think so, of course, there is a switch of league but we are here to win games and to win silverware so it doesn’t matter on the competition, you have to be there from the first minutes. I think the transition will be easy.
Of course, it’s another dynamic. If you’re the last 16 in Europe there is a lot of media coverage and interest. It’s a podium because you play your games and they’re watched all over Europe.
But in the end, it’s just a football game on the pitch against 11 players. If you approach a game like that it will be very easy.
What is the latest on Aaron Ramsey?
He didn't have a setback. He wasn't meant to be in the squad yesterday, for me it's going as planned.
Today he is on the pitch. We have to see his progress day by day. But there has definitely not been a setback.
It’s been a demanding game yesterday so we will probably need to assess players tomorrow who played and prepare for the game on Sunday.
How do you feel Amad Diallo has settled at Rangers?
He’s had a good start. The change in environment is an aspect for him that he feels.
The level of playing he was playing with Manchester United was the reserves so the intensity in Scotland is much higher.
You can see his quality. Against Dundee United, he had some good chances to score a goal. He has development (to go) as you would expect from a young player who hasn’t played much in these last few months.
Did Dortmund surprise you?
We knew they were capable of playing in many ways. I wanted to start the game in this system because you want to start the game well, on the front foot and score the first goal. Which we did.
I always had in mind there was a possibility they would only need one more goal to get the tie to extra time so we prepared the team for this moment.
I had to use it earlier than expected but I think the change was needed.
I think they executed the plan really well and we were much more stable defensively but also had more space to damage them in transition moments which we knew would happen because once they had to score it would open up space for us to exploit.
The game went as planned for us. We had a lot of time and preparation for both games and in the end, it was all worth it. We need to be dynamic and be able to switch systems and the players did really well to execute the plan.
What did you think of Alfredo Morelos performance?
He had a good performance. He had a better second half than first half.
He had some problems with the physicality of both defenders and he lost too many balls when he had to control them.
Second half he was much more dominant and you can see when he has the ball we can keep it and move from him with runs from Ryan Kent and midfield.
I’m really happy with his performance, his body language, the way he shines. He has to keep that momentum along with all the other players.
Would you put John Lundstram in the back four again?
It depends on the opposition. I used John in a back three at Hibs away after we scored the penalty. He came in a moment when we didn’t have many central defenders to select due to injury so John was someone I thought and think can play in that role.
The most important thing in that role for me is that he can also switch into midfield because we knew that if we went back to a five I had to be dynamic enough to switch to a 4-3-3 if we needed a goal. We didn’t know. John can fit the role quite easily but we know he’s more natural in midfield.
How different was it being on the sidelines from your playing days on an Ibrox European night?
I had many proud moments as a player, games where you had moments in Europe or lifting silverware.
It’s always special to have those moments if you compare it with being a manager, that’s much more satisfying because you’re responsible for the whole process, not just your own performance as a player.
You have to make sure the staff is functioning well, the players are ready to play both physically and mentally.
When you have these pleasing moments in big games as a manager it’s a very satisfying and a proud moment.
In one month's time I get to wear the jersey again at Ibrox and it’s very special for me and a historic moment for the club with 150 years of history. It will be really good. I don’t know if I can put the same performances in as I did as a player, but I can try. I will definitely enjoy the moment.
