GIOVANNI VAN BRONCKHORST had admitted frustration in some of his Rangers squad not taking their chances in his starting XI when given an opportunity.
The Ibrox manager handed game time to several fringe players against Dundee in the Premier Sports Cup on Wednesday night, as his side stuttered into the last four with a less than convincing display against Dundee.
Van Bronckhorst said after the game that the Ibrox support was right to boo the performance at the full-time whistle and explained how he hoped his players would have given more.
He said: “We have some injuries so we need to keep everyone fresh. Everyone needs to perform and play well when they come in.
“It’s not always easy when you haven’t played a lot of games, I know that. Still, when you play for Rangers in these moments you have to be there and perform. That’s what we need to improve.
“Of course I understand it. I have played for big teams, big clubs. I said before, when we qualified for the Champions League after 12 years we bring this club back to the Champions League.
“I knew already that it was going to be tough against the opponents that we faced. The reality is that it’s tough. But that’s all we can do. We want to bring success back to the club, we want to win trophies.
“But in the last 12 years we haven’t won many trophies. Last season we won the Scottish Cup after 12 years, the League Cup we haven’t won for years. I want to bring those moments back.”
He continued: “That’s my aim – for us it’s a habit to win trophies. That hasn’t been the case for many years. That’s what I want to bring back, what the players want to bring back.
“That’s our work. Sometimes the performances aren’t good. I have been manager for many years. I had the worst spell as a manager at Feyenoord when we lost seven games in a row.
“After that we won five titles in three years. That is football as well. You need to keep working hard and make sure you realise you are not doing well and need to improve. That is the most important thing for me and the most important thing for my players.”
On the return of Kemar Roofe to his Rangers squad, van Bronckhorst added: “Very pleased because he had a lot of injuries, he worked hard and his drive is there.
“He hasn’t played for so long so you could see the energy he brought. It’s good for me to have him back. You need injured players back as quickly as possible so I’m pleased for Kemar that he is back now.”
