Rangers FC take on Celtic in the Scottish Cup on Sunday and pundit Kris Boyd has warned Giovanni van Bronckhorst not to overexpose his players.
The Gers will go into this match at the back of a win over Braga in the Europa League semi-final but since Thursday’s match went into extra time, Boyd has urged the Rangers boss to be very thoughtful with his team selection.
Writing in his Scottish Sun column, he has said: “They have been invincible in Europe one minute and then pretty vulnerable domestically the next. It is a strange conundrum to get your head around.
“The lack of trust the manager clearly has in some players has certainly hindered them on the home front.
“Playing guys who are running on empty has not helped Rangers’ cause domestically. And if he asks too many of the Braga heroes to go to the well against Celtic on Sunday, there will only be one outcome.
“There were a lot of tired legs after 120 minutes of European action at Ibrox on Thursday. The league title has already gone for Rangers. There is no way they will claw back six points in five games.”
Will Van Bronckhorst rest his players for the Old Firm Derby?
Thursday-night European ties are always hectic and because it was a 120-minute game, several of the Gers players will be massively tired.
Players like Goldson, Bassey and Ryan Kent all played the full match while others such as Borna Barisic had to be taken off due to cramps.
Rangers FC will be playing in the UEL semi-final so Van Bronckhorst will not want any unwanted injuries which is why he will have to rest and rotate his players on Sunday.
We know for a fact that the manager will not be brave enough to play a second-fiddle side in the derby so the next best thing he can do is try and kill off the game early and then ring in the substitutions.
