Luuk de Jong swerves Rangers revenge mission as PSV captain resets Champions League 'stakes' for teammates

The skipper has his sights set on the group stage after slipping up against the Scottish Premiership side last term.

PSV Eindhoven skipper Luuk de Jong insists he isn't interested in revenge against Rangers - he is just desperate to get to the Champions League group stages.

Rangers face the Dutch high-fliers tomorrow night at Ibrox before travelling to the Netherlands next week in the second leg of the play-offs. Last year, Rangers eliminated PSV after a 2-2 draw at Ibrox before they won 1-0 at the Philips Stadium in the return leg. But former Barcelona and Newcastle United star de Jong doesn't care about who they are playing - he just wants to take his place on the biggest of stages.

He said: "It shouldn't just be about taking revenge on Rangers. This is about so much more. This play-off is about ambition, dreams, about realising how great it would be to make it to the group stage of the Champions League again. That's the same regardless of who we are playing against. In our squad, there are only five or six guys who already know what that is like to play in the Champions League

"I would also like to give the rest the learning experience of it. Last season, I got injured against Rangers in the second leg and maybe I played too much, too soon, but you want to reach the group stages so badly. The stakes are so great.

"You want your opponents to think 'oh, we are playing PSV, this is going to be a very tough match.' I think as a top club you should never give your opponent the feeling that they can get something. We are all focussing on Rangers. After the deep disappointment of last year, we have to make sure that it does go our way."

However, his PSV teammate, Ismael Saibari, insisted it was all about payback against Rangers for him. The Moroccan international stressed: "Yes, I see it as revenge. Last year we were very close, but in the end, it wasn't to be. It is a dream for everyone to play in the Champions League and PSV also belongs there."