Rangers want £2.4m UEFA windfall as pundit predicts team news v Ajax
We’re delighted to welcome Tam McManus as our exclusive Rangers columnist as each week he’ll be giving his views on the biggest talking points at Ibrox…
Tam McManus expects Giovanni van Bronckhorst to make changes to the Rangers starting line-up against Ajax on Tuesday night – but he won’t name a completely weakened side.
While the Champions League clash is effectively a dead-rubber tie for bottom-of-the-group Rangers, a win for them would see them net £2.4million in prize money [Mirror].
Avoiding defeat and getting some points on the board would also mean they avoid the unwanted tag of being the worst-performing team in the history of the Champions League group stages.
However, McManus points out that Rangers do have some important Scottish Premiership fixtures on the horizon before the upcoming World Cup break.
As a result, he doesn’t expect a completely changed side but does expect to see some rarely-seen players to be involved.
“I think van Bronckhorst will rest a few players,” McManus told Ibrox News.
“There’s no way they’re going to beat Ajax 5-0. That’s not going to happen.
“And they’ve got a big game on Sunday away at St Johnstone after that so I think he’ll rest a few players.
“Rangers will want to win again Ajax.
“Financially, it’ll be a big boost for them to get points and they won’t want to finish their whole Champions League group stage campaign without getting a point and being one of the worst teams in history.
“I don’t think he’ll go too weak as he’ll want the win so he might mix and match. But van Bronckhorst’s main focus will be St Johnstone away and then Hearts at home in the coming weeks.”
Rangers take on Ajax at Ibrox in their sixth and final Group A match on Tuesday night (1 November).
In other Rangers news, a “crazy situation” has emerged at Ibrox that’s led to this star player being “gone” from the club.