What are the main things your squad and yourself can gain from this game?

No matter what we will be second in the group but I think this is still a good game against a good opponent. They are an excellent side who are first in the group. Every game we want to reach our level. In this game it’s good to see where the players stand and where we stand as a team. Although we can’t come first in the group, the experience we are having is very good for our development.

You know the Lyon coach from your time at Feyenoord. Has he been a big influence on your career?

He was there my whole career, when I was a young player coming from the academy Peter Bosz was the captain of the team. He really welcomed me in the squad and was very helpful. After that he was the technical director of Feyenoord after I came back in 2017 after my time in Barcelona so we had a lot of conversations about the future of the club and my role in that. Being a head coach now, we played a lot against each other when he was with Heracles, Vitesse and even Ajax. I really enjoyed our friendship over the years and he’s been there almost my whole career.

How would you evaluate the process of forming this team in your own image?

Things are going really well. It’s also to do with the willingness of the players because it’s not that easy to come in as a coach as there’s a lot of games and not a lot time for preparation so we had to do a lot in our team meetings and also the sessions we had on the pitch. They were really open to playing a bit different to what they are used to and so far the development has been really good. We will keep pushing them into preparing for games and having the mentality to win no matter what. That’s the mentality we need as a club.

READ MORE: Borna Barisic's Rangers rebirth: How Giovanni van Bronckhorst has sparked a dramatic form upsurge

Any team news and are you inclined to rest players with one eye on Hearts?

Leon Balogun can’t travel. We have one training session left and we have everyone on board but we have to wait until training is done before I announce my squad. We have to watch closely the physical state of my players. It’s also a game where I can change some positions giving other players minutes who need them. I’m more than comfortable to do that for a good game tomorrow evening.

What do you make of the issue France have had this week, the fans seem to have been messed around with getting in and not getting in and now they’re allowed back in. Some are financially out of pocket, do you have a message for them and do you admire the guys who do go and follow you at the moment?

My first experience with the Rangers fans was back in 1998 when we had the first game away against Shelbourne and the huge support we had, for me, was something different and after over the years and also the couple of weeks I’ve been here with the club - I know how the fans are.  They want to travel with the team and support us.  It’s very important for us that we have our fans behind us every game so I can imagine it’s not easy for the fans to be left in the dark the last couple of days because you want to know what’s happening.  One day they can travel, one day they have to stay and the same day, later in the day, they can travel so it’s not easy but I hugely respect their presence in the stadium so hopefully the fans who wanted to go to Lyon, can still go and give us the support we need and also appreciate.

Lyon are playing at a higher technical level than most of the opponents you have already faced, are you and your backroom staff looking forward to it as a technical challenge?

Of course, it’s a challenge because I think challenges are really good.  In challenges, you face you will develop as a coach but also as a team.  It is a very experienced side with some quality players so in that aspect we can expect a very tough opponent but I’m confident my team will play well against them.  It’s not going to be an easy game but it’s also a game to prepare so there will be some slight changes in our technical plan to make sure we have a good result against Lyon as well but this is what it is.  The challenges you have in football are what you want, to compete with good teams so we definitely are going to face a good team tomorrow.

How much of a chance is this for players who are maybe on the fringes of the first team to lay down a marker?

For the players who come in it’s always good to have minutes.  The downside of being a coach with a big squad and with good players is to disappoint players every game.  That’s something that’s not easy to do but you have to do it so when you have a chance to give those players a chance to play it’s always a nice feeling and for the players as well because some players didn’t play as much in recent weeks but they gave everything in training and their mentality is really good so I’m very pleased to give some players minutes tomorrow.

Both teams have already qualified, what type of game are you expecting?

These games are always special because there’s nothing at stake so when you win or lose it doesn’t matter.  I think both teams and manager’s of both teams want to win every game so for me it’s the same as for Peter Bosz.  I expect some changes also with Lyon, they have some injury problems but they have a very big squad so in the end we’ll face a strong Lyon side with a lot of quality.