GIOVANNI van Bronckhorst insisted he wouldn’t swap Champions League qualification for the Europa League despite Rangers’ dire European campaign.
The Ibrox boss shut down any suggestion his side would be better placed to enter the second-tier European competition and remarked it’d be “impossible” to lower ambitions in the hope of Europa League success.
Rangers struggled to six heavy defeats in the Champions League group stage with Liverpool, Ajax and Napoli proving stern opposition for Van Bronckhorst’s men on their return to the top table.
But, the Dutchman is adamant there is absolutely no interest in avoiding the Champions League group stage, even if it does bring about seriously testing results.
“Once you can qualify for the Champions League you want your players to do that,” said Van Bronckhorst.
“We qualified for the first time in 12 years so that’s a very big compliment to my players who have achieved that. So if there is a chance to qualify for the Champions League you always have to try to do that.
“There’s no discussion. It’s not for me to say, ‘Okay, the Champions League level is too high so we’re not going to try to get there’. That’s impossible.”
While Van Bronckhorst boasts pride at achieving Champions League group stage qualification this year, he’s more than aware of the expectation remaining the same.
“Same for the players as me as the boss,” he said over increased criticism due to Champions League losses
“I want to be in the Champions League. So when you work hard to achieve that as we did by beating PSV you’re very proud of that. But you also know it’s not the Europa League.
“Success always brings expectation. And even when you go up a level the expectation is still there.
“That’s part of the game. I wouldn’t have changed anything that happened for my team this year and their experiences.”
