Gio van Bronckhorst admits it's asking too much of Rangers to compete with the likes of Ajax regularly at this stage as he somewhat echoed his matchday one comment.
But the Ibrox boss insists that won't stop his side going for it at home in a bid to pick up their first Champions League points of the season. Rangers have had a Champions League campaign to forget so far with no points from their first five games but can finish on a high with a result against Ajax that could see them go level on points with the Eredivisie champions - even if the head to head record looks out of their reach.
Van Bronckhorst admitted earlier in the season that competing in the Champions League is a huge ask and concedes Ajax, who are regulars in the knockout stages and made the semi-finals in 2019, are a cut above. When asked if they should be competing with the Amsterdam team, he said: "We compete with Ajax? The team who almost played the final and were doing well in Europe for five or six years in a row?
"We've been doing well in Europe the last three years but we're still not at the same level as Ajax. But we are developing and that's the way it is, that's the difference in Europe at the moment."
He also pointed to the signings the Dutch side have made, which included Calvin Bassey, Steven Bergwijn and Brian Brobbey for a total of £95million. They sold more for more than double that with key stars like Antony and Lisandro Martinez joining Manchester United. However, van Bronckhorst was quick to point out that although it may be asking too much to live with them over a campaign, they can give them a game on a one off basis.
He said: "If you see Ajax, the players overall are from a higher level. Their budget is high, they bought for £100million and 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 Ibrox."
Speaking after the opening day, where Rangers lost 4-0 in Amsterdam, Van Bronckhorst had said: "To compete in the Champions League you need hundreds of millions. Otherwise you can’t compete. Look at Ajax, they sold players worth over £200million. Look at Liverpool as well. For us to compete with them, it’s too much to ask.
"We want to compete but we want to compete with the squad we have and the squad we’re capable of making. We knew it would be tough and it showed today."
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