Gio van Bronckhorst needs Rangers redemption as Champions League exit will be hard for fans to forgive

It’S been a long week.

From the moment Giovanni van Bronckhorst surveyed the scenes of devastation inside his dressing room last Tuesday night, the Rangers boss knew it would be. It wasn’t so much the first-leg scoreline in Belgium which had caused such an outpouring of anger and frustration. Rather it was the sheer sloppiness of an abject performance which has left a crack at the Champions League hanging in the balance.

If van Bronckhorst and his players have been counting down the hours ever since for a shot at redemption then, at last, tonight their moment will arrive. There can be no such carelessness and no room for excuses either. Rangers simply have to repair the damage done against a Union Saint Gilloise side which travelled to Glasgow yesterday intent on doubling down on that 2-0 win and taking a huge step towards another fairytale story in UEFA’s event for the elite.

Van Bronckhorst knows he can’t afford to let that happen. He said: “We were very disappointed after last week’s result. I have never seen my players so disappointed after a game.

“We have the chance now to overturn that and to make sure we have a better performance than last week. I am sure we are capable of doing so and you will see a different team than you saw last week.

“It’s very important because you want to stay in the Champions League for the next round and be able to qualify for the group stage. The first game wasn’t the result we wanted. We have a home game (tonight) when we can all change it. That’s what we are capable of and what we want to do.

“My objective and my desire is to still be in the Champions League next week. I’ve said many times before that if you play in Europe, you can not have an off night because it will make it