Rangers have to go on the front foot against PSV Eindhoven tonight, sitting back and hoping to pick them off on the break will only end in tears – and they won’t be Dutch.
If the first leg showed anything, it’s that both managers identified weaknesses in the opposition and targeted them; Rangers looked to play out from the back, beating PSV’s press then targeted the area between the full-backs and centre-halves, Ruud van Nistelrooy had a slightly easier game plan in that he knew we are still adjusting to new tactics at set-pieces and capitalised.
Antonio Colak has shown that he can finish, I don’t think that part of his game is really up for debate, so we should be looking to find him however we can, in and around the box. If we make him drop deep and get involved in the build-up play then we are not using him properly, let Malik Tillman, Tom Lawrence, Ryan Kent and our full-backs deal with that aspect of the game. John Lundstram and Steven Davis are also aggressive passers of the ball and capable of breaking defensive lines.
One other issue, aside from set-pieces, that has plagued us this season is not shooting when the chance is there. Kent and Lawrence were guilty of this against Hibs and Tillman last week against PSV, although he also should have squared it instead of shooting on a couple of occasions. The decision-making has to be better because it could easily be a game decided by one goal either way.
Whether it’s using the flanks, switching the play quickly or attacking centrally, the end result has to be finding Colak – not creating chances or taking risks could well see us miss out on the big stage once again.