Giovanni van Bronckhorst is under no illusions of what is expected of him as Rangers boss when it comes to silverware as he admitted “only first place counts for this club”. 

Rangers currently sit six points clear at the top of the Scottish Premiership in a crucial season as the winners of the league are likely to go straight into the Champions League group stages. 

His tactical tweaks have seen a huge improvement from the tenure of Steven Gerrard under whom the team had begun to look touch stale. 

 And while many thought the changes were subtle, van Bronckhorst describes his style as “significantly different” and outlined why. 

The Dutchman told De Telegraaf: "We are the champions of Scotland. This is Rangers, only first place counts for this club. We have to have that appearance of flair and spirit in every game and I expect that. No, I demand that from my players. 

"I'm the manager, I had to show what I want from day one. 

"I have to show the players that, that's very important. For me, it was nice to see that they have opened up to something new. Of course, it helps that you win matches with the way I play. When that is successful, then confidence in the team grows. 

"I have opted for a slightly different formation in possession of the ball and when we defend we are also slightly different.  

"Steven Gerrard also played 4-3-3, but if you see our matches, it is clear that we operate significantly differently in a number of positions. 

"I have access to classic wingers at Rangers. So I want to use that. I also have a real number 10, so we can vary it a lot. The boys have handled it really well and everything has come off. 

"It would have been nice if we could have trained the whole squad under the sun for a while in the winter, but Rangers has a fantastic training complex and we can train well here just fine."