GIOVANNI VAN BRONCKHORST insists it is 'too much to ask' to expect Rangers to compete in the Champions League following their crushing 4-0 defeat to Ajax.
The Dutchman saw his side embarrassed in Amsterdam as their Group A campaign got off to a dreadful start just days after their abject Old Firm loss against Celtic.
Quickfire goals from Edson Alvarez, Steven Berghuis and Mohammed Kudus clinched the win in a first half that saw Alfred Schreuder's side outclass their visitors.
And the rout was completed with ten minutes remaining thanks to a Steven Bergwijn effort that added a richly deserved shine to the score line for the Dutch giants.
Van Bronckhorst insisted pre-match that he was content with the business Rangers completed in the transfer market as he defended the decision not to add to his seven summer signings.
But the lack of strength and depth in the team and the squad was exposed in the Johan Cruijff ArenA and the remaining fixtures with Napoli and Liverpool, as well as the return clash with Ajax, will rightly concern supporters.
Van Bronckhorst said: “The performance wasn’t good. The players are committed.
"They want to play the way we want. They want to fight, they want to work hard.
“But against an opponent like Ajax when you’re not organised in the way you should be, it’s going to be really tough.
“I think the level we’re used to and the level we need to reach in the Champions League is a big difference.
“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."
