Giovanni van Bronckhorst defends decision to leave ‘fully fit’ Aaron Ramsey on bench during Europa League defeat to Braga

Rangers boss Giovanni van Bronckhorst defended his decision to leave Aaron Ramsey on the bench during last night’s 1-0 loss to Braga - despite the on loan Juventus midfielder being fully fit.

The Welsh international, who opened the scoring during Sunday’s Old Firm derby before being substituted on the hour mark, cut a frustrated figure as he watched his team mates fall to a first-leg defeat in Portugal.

Rangers were second best for large spells as they failed to register a single shot on target and must now overcome a slender deficit against Carlos Carvalhal’s side at Ibrox.

Abel Ruiz’s first-half strike settled a tense Europa League quarter final first-leg tie devoid of many chances, with January marquee signing Ramsey left to watch on from the dugout.

Despite his lack of game time, Van Bronckhorst explained he will try to get the best out of the attacking midfielder in the coming weeks.

He said: “He was fit, but I have a big squad, I think the midfielders who played did well.

“Of course with the substitutions, with Joe (Aribo) coming on and Ryan (Jack) also on a yellow already, I think the substitutes went really good.

“There are more games to play so we’ll use all the players we have.

“Aaron’s had a difficult period, he’s playing more games lately for us and also for Wales. I’m really happy that he is back and available - of course we know his qualities.

“We have a lot of midfield players available now and this is the first game out of two and with the cup semi-final, it’s a busy period. Of course, the qualities of Aaron, we can use.

“We know his quality. You see what’s needed for games and you also have to do your game management and look a little bit ahead.

“That’s what we’re doing right now. Aaron will have his game time.”

The Dutchman has promised Rangers fans a big performance from his side in next week’s return leg as he challenged his players to book their place in the last four of the competition.

He added: “We’re only halfway. We always want a good result to take back to the second game.

“That’s what we wanted but you know a 1-0 defeat is quite a small margin.

“The performance at times was good. We created some chances but you all saw the quality they have. It’s a quarter final so you’re going to face an opponent who is also strong.

“You saw that after 70 minutes their energy levels dropped a bit. We have to give all the energy next week to reach the semis.

“We’re coming back with one goal difference. It could have been better but it could also have been worse.

“We’ve got a much better view of their team so we know what’s ahead of us and we’re going to prepare well.

“Next week we play at home with the crowd behind us. We have to win by the margin of two, so we know what the task is.

“It’s going to be a very hostile atmosphere, which could be overwhelming.”