Rangers cannot afford complacency in Europa League second leg
Rangers have given themselves a fantastic platform to progress to the quarter-finals of the Europa League but the deal is far from sealed.
Last Thursday’s 3-0 win at home to Red Star was a brilliant night for all involved with the Light Blues and it would take a miraculous succession of events for the Serbian champions to turn the game on its head.
Giovanni van Bronckhorst will have been over the moon with the display of his side but he will be equally aware of the dangers facing the Gers.
Despite being three goals to the good in the tie, van Bronckhorst has to resist any temptations to rotate his side in the name of resting players because any kind of move would give the home side a massive boost.
The last thing Rangers need to do is open the door for Crvena Zvezda to get a foothold in the tie which will heighten the sweat in the Light Blues’ players and fans.
There are players on the fringes who could be warranted a start such as Fashion Sakala, James Sands and Amad Diallo or even teenagers Alex Lowry and Charlie McCann.
Such a game might be a great learning curve for those youngsters but it can only be off the bench once the first-choice players have ensured they cannot lose.
Red Star are no mugs in Europe having won their own Europa League group and the 3-0 scoreline could easily be reversed in the return leg.
It goes against a lot of logic and the Dutchman could still make a few alterations to his best 11 but he would be smart to stick with what he trusts first before experimenting further.
In other Rangers news, Barry Ferguson was less than impressed with something that happened in the Gers’ win against Dundee on Sunday.