Giovanni van Bronckhorst urges Rangers to make one final effort against Ajax

Giovanni van Bronckhorst wants his Rangers team to take the positives from their defeat to Napoli and ensure they finish their Champions League group stage with a win over Ajax.

The Ibrox side lost 3-0 to the Serie A leaders in Naples, stretching their run of defeats to five in five games in the competition.

Rangers complete their campaign with a home match against Ajax next week, where the manager wants to see a last push to finish on a positive note. The previous matches in Glasgow have brought a 3-0 defeat to Napoli and a humbling 7-1 loss to Liverpool.

“It is a chance to get the first points,” said Van Bronckhorst

“We have to leave the tournament with our heads held high and it is another chance for us to play at home and get the three points at home.

“In every home game we have played so far we were right in the game and twice we gave it away in the last 20 minutes. Of course with Napoli with the red card (for James Sands) and three penalties you know it is going to be difficult.

“Against Liverpool they turned up the level with the substitutes they had but we have to give everything to make sure we have a result that we can be proud of at home to Ajax, that is our main task, to get something out of the game.”

Van Bronckhorst had taken his side to Italy knowing they would face a difficult task against one of the form teams in Europe, who lead Serie A and were on an 11-game winning streak.

Though disappointed with the result, the Rangers boss felt that he saw something he hadn’t seen in all the group games so far, and could take some encouragement.

“It was positive compared to the other Champions League games we have played,” he said.

“We have had some good moments in the games but in too many games we were conceding too many goals easily and the biggest example was against Liverpool at home.

“But today at 2-0, we were going forward, we were very brave on the ball, we were playing well and creating chances but if you don’t take them it is going to be difficult.

“This game we created the most chances in the Champions League this season, to score away from home in Naples which is very positive but again the chances only count when you score them.

“They took their first two chances and we didn’t. That is very disappointing because the players gave everything, they showed character after 2-0, they were pushing to get something out of the game but in the end we didn’t.”