‘He must get into his players minds’ - Brian Laudrup urges Giovanni van Bronckhorst to address Rangers confidence crisis

Brian Laudrup reckons Rangers manager Giovanni van Bronckhorst must shoulder some of the blame for his side’s lack of confidence in the Champions League this season.

The Light Blues have yet to secure a single point and find the net after their opening three Group A matches, with nine goals conceded including a 2-0 defeat to Liverpool at Anfield on Tuesday night.

The scoreline could have been a lot worse for the Ibrox side if it wasn’t for a series of top saves from veteran goalkeeper Allan McGregor and Laudrup has questioned the lack of fight on display from his old club.

While acknowledging the scale of the task they face up against some of Europe’s elite clubs, he believes the Dutchman must address the evident lack of self-belief his players have shown so far in the competition.

Writing in his Daily Mail column, Laudrup said: “There seems a lack of belief within individuals and within the team. That’s the biggest thing for me.

“We all understand the gulf in finance and quality the Champions League presents for Scottish clubs. I’ve experienced it myself and know how tough it can be.

“We also have to recognise that Rangers are in one of the tougher sections of this season’s competition. That’s a fact. No one sensible is demanding lots of big results against clubs with far greater resources.

“But that isn’t the same as expecting to see a bit more within performances than we again witnessed at Anfield.

“The starting point must be some self-confidence about competing at this elite level. If I’m honest, I didn’t see it against Liverpool. Without Allan McGregor’s world class saves, they could have lost five or six goals.

“I think Giovanni van Bronckhorst must get into the minds of his players and emphasise what they have done at home in Europe over recent years.

“The Rangers players must remind themselves they are still in it. They are not far off Celtic in the Premiership and the cause isn’t completely lost in Europe. Not yet. But it will be if they cannot impose themselves more at this level.”

Van Bronckhorst claimed in the aftermath of their latest defeat against Liverpool that his team were displaying signs of “improvement” but former Gers hero Laudrup was critical of three players in particular.

He added: “The midfield didn’t work. At times, it looked as though the tempo was too much for John Lundstram, which was a little surprising. Too many players lack conviction in these games.

“We saw it again with Ryan Kent. He had some chances to go one-on-one against a defender but chose the wrong option rather than being really positive and creating something.

“The incident where Kent lost the ball and Luis Diaz won a penalty encapsulated the huge difference between the teams. I don’t want to be too critical of Malik Tillman as he is still young, but he really struggled. He’s gone off the radar for a few weeks.

“He started so well at Rangers but now seems to find it difficult to keep to the pace of the game, and he’s not really a right winger.

“None of the attacking players who started had any influence. It must have been a bit of a nightmare for Alfredo Morelos because he was left so isolated.”