Rangers boss Giovanni van Bronckhorst hails ‘key’ man John Lundstram
Giovanni van Bronckhorst has singled out Rangers man John Lundstram for his “key” performance against Red Star Belgrade last night (March 10).
The Light Blues eased past the Serbian side with a 3-0 win at Ibrox in the first leg of their Europa League tie.
Van Bronckhorst hailed the midfielder for the “important” role in the team following the win.
Speaking to BT Sport post-match,van Bronckhorstsaid: “I think John had an important role today. We prepared him for the different systems we could play against.
“I think he was the key second half because we want him to be very dynamic and be in midfield so we can keep the pressure on the ball.
“But sometimes he had to be in the back four to make it a back five and I think he did it really well second half.
“I know the positions he can play and when I came here, I asked him to be a central defender because they were all injured or out.
“He said, ‘I’ve never played there’ but I said, ‘with your qualities you can easily play there’ and I think he’s growing in that role in between the central defenders or in midfield.”
Team player
The former Sheffield United man took a little bit of time to adjust to life in Scotland, but he hasn’t looked back since.
He was magnificent in Rangers’ emphatic win last night and was key to almost everything the team did.
He bossed the midfield, as he normally does. does, and helped out the defence brilliantly in a very unselfish fashion.
He just did not stop running all night it seemed and the Red Star players will be relieved he isn’t hot on their tail when they wake up this morning.
It was another landmark performance from the Gers who look set for a place in the quarter-final draw.
There is still another huge game to go at the very intense Marakana but if the Bears avoid completely falling apart, they should make it through.
For now, though, all attention reverts back to Scottish Premiership duties as van Bronckhorst’s side look to close the gap on Celtic.
In other Rangers news, Mark Hateley is baffled by Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s decisions.