Calvin Bassey earns post Rangers rave review after 'very strong' Ajax debut as big Ibrox difference explained

Calvin Bassey says he will need to adjust his game from what he was used to at Rangers as part of Ajax's 'tiki-taka football' approach after making his league debut.

The £19 million Nigerian international made his debut for the Eredivisie champions in a 1-0 win away to Sparta Rotterdam, coming after receiving a two-game suspension for his red card in a Johan Cruyff Shield defeat to his former club's Champions League play-off opponents, PSV Eindhoven. Bassey says it was great to make his bow in the league for manager Alfred Schreuder's side, but there were differences from life at Ibrox.

He said: "The manager coaches me to take different positions or to choose different spaces and which passes I should make or not make. That makes it a lot easier for me. I notice a big difference between the game here at Ajax and Rangers. Here, I receive the ball in a lot of different positions on the pitch.

"I have to build relationships now with my colleagues and get better at training every day. How long do I need to get used to it? Time will tell.

"It was a blessing to make my league debut. I want to keep working as hard as possible and improve. I'm trying to learn and get better.

"Ajax is known for tiki-taka football. You have to move into other positions to receive the ball. It's about learning and building connections with the team. I have to learn what certain players feel comfortable with. We have to work on it every day."

Schreuder was pleased with how Bassey fared on his first start, saying: "You can see that he is very strong and he really enjoys the physical duels. That's good too, but you have to do it at times when it can't become dangerous for us.

"Especially in the box, you have to be careful with that. And you also