Gio van Bronckhorst has blasted back at Rangers flop Dragan Mladenovic over claims his players are arrogant.
The Serb – who played seven games in a season at Ibrox – labelled the Light Blues stars were cocky after their win over Borussia Dortmund.
Mladenovic joined Rangers from Red Star Belgrade in 2004 and his two former clubs are set to clash in the Europa League last16.
And as he previewed the clash, the 46-year-old said: “I watched the Rangers v Dortmund game and they outscored the German ‘millionaires’.
"Rangers deservedly won convincingly, and the Scots are now a little arrogant.”
But Van Bronckhorst refuted that and said: “Why are we arrogant? I don’t see any of my players being arrogant - we are very humble in this moment.
“We enjoy being in Europe but we respect every opponent we face and I don’t see any signs of arrogance in my team, in myself or the club.
“We are happy to be in this round and will do everything to win this tie. But arrogant is not the word that comes to my mind when I see my players preparing for this game.”
Rival boss and legendary midfielder Dejan Stankovic tried to pile the pressure on Rangers by claiming the Scottish champions are favourites.
But Van Bronckhorst played that down and said: “That’s his opinion, of course. For me that’s not important.
“We are preparing for a game against an opponent and know that we have to do our business on the pitch.
“That’s the most important thing and that’s what we’re going to do.
“I don’t think I played a lot against him. I had a legends game for UEFA before a Champions League final and played with him in a five-aside game.
“But, of course, I know his history as a player. He was a fantastic player. He could pass and I liked his character and the way he played with an influence on the team.
“I have a lot of respect for him as a player and now as a coach. He has created quite a strong team and we can’t wait to match our teams together. I’m really looking forward to the two games we’re going to play against each other.
“We are playing a tough team who were group winners but I have a full confidence we can have a good result, we will do everything possible to progress to the next round.
“We play in different systems and have played against different systems. In Europe, you have to be dynamic.”
Aaron Ramsey is in the squad but won’t start as Gers look to move a step closer to the last eight of Europe’s second tier competition.
The Rangers boss said: “(Aaron) Ramsey will be in the squad but will not be starting. For us, the most important thing is to have individual programmes for each player to return to full fitness.
“I’m happy to have Ramsey back in the squad and working hard to get Davis and (Ianis) Hagi back also.
“Steven Davis is not available as he an injury. We have a couple of doubts for tomorrow but we will be fine.”
