LONDON
\nGiovanni van Bronckhorst has urged his Rangers players to ignore the pressure of trying to reach the club\u2019s first European final for 14 years when they face RB Leipzig on Thursday.
\nVan Bronckhorst\u2019s side play the first leg of the Europa League semi-final in Germany, with thousands of the club\u2019s fans making the trip for a historic occasion.
\nIt is Rangers\u2019 first last-four appearance in a continental competition since 2008, when they lost the UEFA Cup final against Zenit St Petersburg.
\nVan Bronckhorst knows players can easily be overwhelmed by the expectations of Rangers\u2019 demanding fanbase.
\nBut the former Barcelona and Netherlands midfielder is determined to keep his squad focused on their individual duties in the first leg rather than worry about the bigger picture.
\n\u201cYou have to block all the media, block all the pressure you get from outside to win these legs and just concentrate on your preparation and your performance,\u201d Van Bronckhorst told reporters on Wednesday.
\n\u201cThat\u2019s what the players also have to do \u2013 make sure we prepare well, as normal, and when the whistle goes go into the game, give everything you have on the pitch and make sure you have a good result. In that aspect for me it\u2019s no different.\u201d
\nRangers\u2019 support in Leipzig is expected to reach at least 7,000 and Van Bronckhorst hopes their passionate backing will help reduce the German side\u2019s advantage on their own turf.
\n\u201cWe have had that the whole season when we\u2019ve played abroad. The fan-base who travel with us are amazing,\u201d he said.
\n\u201cIt feels a little bit like playing at home when you are away.\u201d
\nRangers have beaten Borussia Dortmund, Red Star Belgrade and Braga in their surprise run.
\nThe Scottish champions might be outsiders to lift the trophy, but Van Bronckhorst wants one last push to reach the May 18 final against West Ham or Eintracht Frankfurt.
\n\u201cWell, of course we have the belief. If we are still involved in Europe and in a semi-final and you see the run we\u2019ve had in Europe, then it\u2019s been very good,\u201d he said.
\n\u201cThe confidence is there but I think also that we know that we have to perform again. Everything we achieved in the past doesn\u2019t count against Leipzig.
\n\u201cI\u2019m sure that we can get good performances in and have a chance to make the final.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
LONDON Giovanni van Bronckhorst has urged his Rangers players to ignore the pressure of trying to reach the club\u2019s first European final for 14 years when they face RB Leipzig on Thursday. Van Bronckhorst\u2019s side play the first leg of the Europa League semi-final in Germany, with thousands of the club\u2019s fans making the trip […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":258044,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3],"tags":[6613,4834,6614],"class_list":{"0":"post-258017","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports","8":"tag-ignore-pressure","9":"tag-rangers","10":"tag-van-bronckhorst"},"yoast_head":"\n