Gio van Bronckhorst has urged Rangers to finish off Red Star Belgrade and tee up an awesome April of blockbuster clashes.
Gers are already potentially looking at three derby showdowns with Celtic next month as they step up their chase for this season’s two remaining domestic prizes.
But Van Bronckhorst is keen to add two more high-pressure dates to his diary as he plots a route through the later stages of the Europa League.
The Scottish champions are in total control of their last 16 tie after romping to a 3-0 win over the Serbians in last week’s first leg and Gio said: “Our main objective tomorrow is go through and be in the next round in Europe. That’s very important for all of us.
“Of course you are going to add two more games in April, but that’s what you want. You want to be involved in all competitions at the end of the season.
“We just add some games against, quality-wise, some very strong opponents. That’s what you want when you are playing, that’s what you want when you are a coach and it’s also what you want as a club and fans – to play many games at a top level.
“So we just have to go out tomorrow and make sure we are in the next round.”
Progress at the notoriously mental Marakana on Thursday night would mean the Ibrox side having to cram another two huge games in between their crucial head-to-heads with Celtic.
Rangers kick off the month with a home Premiership clash against Ange Postecoglou ’s league leaders before facing them again in the Scottish Cup semi final, likely to be played on April 17.
They could also mean again before the month is out if SPFL chiefs opt to schedule their final derby clash for the first game after the split.
But the Light Blues have work to do this evening before they can start planning for the Europa League quarter-finals, scheduled for April 7 and 14, and Van Bronckhorst is taking nothing for granted.
“We start over again,” he insisted. “The game last week has been played and we are going to play a new game. We are just going to approach this one to have the best result possible.
“We don’t go into the game already thinking about having a 3-0 difference.
“We have to be out from the first minute and try to be solid and be dangerous as well at the right moments in the game so it doesn’t affect us.
“Of course, there are moments in every game when you maybe go 1-0 up or 1-0 down but we just make sure we stick to our tactical game-plan. And make sure we do everything we can to get a positive result.
“We only have two players missing through injury - Hagi and Davis. The others are all training today before we travel. We have quite a big squad to take with us against a strong opponent.
“We saw last week it was quite an even game. Of course, we won with a three-goal margin which was a very good result for us to take with us for the game tomorrow.
“But we can expect an opponent who will do everything to overcome their 3-0 loss last week.
“For us, it starts all over again. We just go into the game preparing the team to get a good result. That’s all we are going to do, to work hard to be in the next round after the game."
