Rangers boss Giovanni van Bronckhorst on Walter Smith wisdom he used to inspire sensational PSV win in Eindhoven
WALTER SMITH’S Rangers famously parked the bus in Europe.
In Eindhoven, it was their coach drivers who had a job doing that.
But Giovanni van Bronckhorst revealed he sent his players out against PSV with the mantra of the great man ringing in their ears.
Tragically, the iconic Ibrox manager isn’t here to see his beloved club back in the Champions League.
Van Bronckhorst, though, was thinking of Smith as he delivered an impassioned team-talk in the Philips Stadion.
Asked by Dutch reporters to explain how he managed to mastermind Wednesday night’s victory, he told them: “Walter Smith was one of my predecessors at Rangers.
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“He always said that whatever happens, Rangers must always find a way to win the match.
“That’s what I said to the players before the game — and they made it happen.”
Winning through to the £40million group stage is a watershed moment for Rangers — and they had to do it the hard way.
In extraordinary scenes outside the Philips Stadion, flares and smoke bombs were set off by PSV supporters when the squad arrived, with hyped-up locals going all out to intimidate Van Bronckhorst’s men.
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The delay had the Dutchman furious, claiming it was the worst welcome he’d experienced in all his years in football.
He urged Uefa to delay kick-off 20 minutes — but they refused.
Having had fireworks explode outside the team hotel throughout the previous night, it was far from ideal preparation — but nothing Van Bronckhorst and his team couldn’t handle.
Now it’s a Champions League firecracker for Rangers in the group stages with mouthwatering games against Calvin Bassey’s Ajax, Andy Robertson’s Liverpool and Serie A stars Napoli.
Van Bronckhorst said: “I wasn’t happy with the team’s arrival and what happened at the stadium.
“We had to wait 15 minutes to get off the bus. The fans from the other side were spitting at the bus, banging on the bus.
“That’s not the way you want to arrive at the stadium for an important match.
“After 15 minutes some of us went inside. But we had two buses and half of the team was in the second coach.
“The second coach drove away and left as the bus driver was panicking because it was such a severe situation. So that bus only arrived 20 minutes later, which was an hour and ten minutes before kick-off.
“We asked Uefa to delay the start of the game so we could prepare properly but Uefa thought a delay wasn’t necessary.
“Before the game we had fireworks at the hotel too. But that seems to be normal these days.
“We experienced that in Dortmund too and to be honest almost every European away game, we have things like this.
“This time it was not just once but twice.
“It was at 2am then 4.30am. We even had some stuff during the day of the game when we were resting in the afternoon.
“But now we can light some fireworks ourselves after reaching the Champions League.
“We used all that stuff with the fireworks and the bus in our preparation.
“For us it gave us extra motivation and in the end you need to be ready at kick-off.
“Our goal was to go to the Champions League. OK, we had to prepare in a shorter time frame than normal but we did and we got the result.”
Rangers players and staff were united when it mattered.
And last night their reward was a front-row seat at the biggest, best and most lucrative club tournament in the world.
They also did it without one of the club’s main men.
Alfredo Morelos dominated the build-up, having been left at home with questions over his attitude and commitment.
Literally unfit to wear the jersey, Van Bronckhorst showed his tough streak with the Colombian.
Immediately after the victory, though, he made a point of including Morelos in his tribute to his players.
And the Ibrox boss vowed to get him fit enough to take on Europe’s elite.
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He added: “Morelos qualified for the Champions League too.
“I think he is also proud, he sees his team-mates and his club qualify for the biggest competition in the world.
“He is still a Rangers player and I will push him to get him fit and to get back the Morelos we all want.”
The truth is, Van Bronckhorst was fully justified in his decision-making.
Axing Morelos was a huge judgment call.
It was a brave and decisive way to go on a night when he needed all the firepower he could find.
But the Dutchman had every faith in new striker Antonio Colak, who repaid him with his fifth goal in six games.
It may have been the easiest goal he’s ever scored but it was still a £40m tap-in.
GVB also praised James Sands who was a rock defensively. He said:
“You always want players to have an impact. Of course, James was also here last season.
“But the minutes he gets now, and the playing time, is the most he’s had.
“I’m really happy with his performances and the levels he’s reaching.
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“For Antonio, it’s difficult to come to a new club. But he’s very important for us with his goals.
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“He scored two goals last season which was not what we wanted as a club. But he’s in the good books again now.”
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