Whilst in raw qualification stakes Rangers’ Champions League clash with Ajax has the air of a dead rubber, in competitive ones Alfred Schreuder has suggested the game will be anything but.
Ajax have already all but finished 3rd in Champions League Group A, with anything but losing by margin of five goals at Ibrox guaranteeing them a spot in the Europa League after Christmas.
Both Rangers and Ajax failed to take anything from home and away ties against Liverpool and Napoli and – whilst Rangers underperformed even more than Ajax – the 3rd spot in the group comes down to that match in Amsterdam.
Rangers were appalling and licking their wounds post-Celtic, unable to pick themselves up against a sharp, creative and – perhaps most importantly – on it Dutch outfit on match day one.
But speaking to the press ahead of the game, Alfred Schreuder has suggested that he’s not expecting a repeat of the 4-0 victory in the Netherlands when Ajax face Rangers in Glasgow next week, even if he is confident.
“We have a lot of confidence in it [the match with Rangers],” said Alfred Schreuder [Ajax TV].
“We have to get [the Liverpool defeat] out of the players’ minds and then prepare well for Rangers. That will also be a tough game.
“The boys are well prepared and you could see that there was confidence to do well [against Liverpool].
“We have started an upward trend in the last few weeks in the competition. You can see that they followed the plan well and because of that you see that we were given the opportunities.
“The big difference with the game in Liverpool is that we showed a lot more guts in possession.
Ajax get week’s rest as Alfred Schreuder sends Rangers warning
The comments come with Rangers currently toiling in the group and at threat of finishing as the worst performer ever at Champions League group stage level.
Anything but a defeat could ensure the club avoid this moniker, but with Viktoria Plzen also teetering on the edge, bettering their result would see the Czech’s crowned the competition’s worst ever team.
Ajax have also had an entire week off to prepare for the match, the Dutch FA giving the club a better chance to earn a meaty win bonus but also as a precaution in case the match realistically came down to this game.
I mean, it has but Rangers aren’t exactly super likely to win by five clear goals.
Rangers have also seen this extra preparation time with Dutch clubs this season, with PSV getting a week off to prepare between legs of the Champions League Playoff.
But all things considered, remember how that panned out?
Meanwhile, Rangers delivered the perfect response to Aberdeen fan idiocy at Ibrox this weekend.