Hectic schedule taking its toll, admits Maurice Edu

Whatever his beef is with life at the moment, Maurice Edu was pretty aloof on his return from Eindhoven. A few moments spent in the company of the taciturn American didn't yield much in the way of insight into what Rangers achieved in Eindhoven on Thursday evening or what they are hoping to achieve against Kilmarnock tomorrow afternoon, but the midfielder did admit that all these games are taking a toll on himself and his team-mates.

Physical or mental? "It's a little bit of both," he said. "It's taken its toll on everybody, but you can't let it affect you too much, you've just got to recover and get ready for the next game. We'd rather have a lot of games than not have them. We just get on with it."

On a personal level, Edu is not having the best of seasons, but when he's surrounded by players with the kind of dogged commitment we saw at the Philips Stadion on Thursday then he tends to get away with his indifferent form. Rangers were doughty in the Netherlands, but there is an awareness among them that despite a valiant draw the other night, the really hard part has yet to come.

"We're probably a better team in Europe away from home than we are at home," said Walter Smith. "The home game can be the problem in Europe for us. There is a bit more pressure on us at Ibrox to attack, especially when it is the second leg. We have to go and try and win the game. When you open up, you may leave yourself a wee bit vulnerable. So it's different from the game in Holland. That's the challenge we face."

And it's a considerable challenge. Somehow, PSV failed to score against Rangers, but what are the chances of them being so inaccurate in front of goal should they create anything like as many chances at Ibrox on Thursday? This, after all, is a side that has scored eight times in their last four away matches in the Europa League, the most recent of them being a 2-2 draw at Lille, who are joint-top of the French league. Make no mistake, the Dutch are a very decent outfit. If Rangers, with a savagely depleted squad, can knock them out of the competition then it would be an outstanding achievement.

How big? Well, Smith is not a man to get drawn into comparisons or even emotions. He was asked yesterday if, in the final months as Rangers manager. he's had cause to get sentimental. "Do I feel sentimental?" he repeated with a disbeliefing smile. "Not a chance.

"It's management. It doesn't matter how successful you are, you are just trying to win the next game. You win a championship, enjoy it for a couple of days, then start thinking about players for the following season. And you have to try and do it again.That is the reality - certainly with the Old Firm. I just look upon this as my last season and I'm trying to win. That's it. There will be bits of it I will miss - and some I won't."

That last bit was a playful dig at us toilers in the media, constantly trying, and constantly failing, to get him into wistful mode in the countdown to his Rangers exit. Suffice to say that Smith's mind is still focused on winning matches in the future rather than talking about matches that he has won in the past.

The second-leg on Thursday will be a belter. They'll have Sasa Papac available again, but on the flip-side, their run of results at home in Europe is not hugely encouraging. They've won only three of their last 15 European matches in their own ground and have kept a clean sheet in one of their last seven at Ibrox.

"Some people think you are more fortunate to have the second leg at home but for Rangers it has worked well up to now to be at Ibrox first," said the Rangers manager. "We've had a reasonable run of results on the road. So next week is a little bit different and I just hope we can make the adjustment and put a bit more pressure on PSV - without leaving ourselves open to their quicker players. If we do get through and reach the last eight then you just take that as it comes. As you get through, the level of opposition gets better. So, for us, especially this year with a smaller squad, I would never really think that Dublin would be possible. But you never know. No matter how far we go it is a terrific achievement for this group of players in the circumstances they are working in."

On the strange case of Neil Alexander being selected ahead of Allan McGregor in Eindhoven, he said he was merely preparing for the coming weeks. "I felt I have to be ready for any eventuality and have both keepers sharp in case there is an injury as the games increase in importance. Neil has been great for us when he has played. It is not a difficult choice. Allan is obviously my first choice keeper but it is not hard to put Neil in the goals. I might play him for the two games before Hampden (Kilmarnock tomorrow and PSV next week], I don't know yet. I've yet to make up my mind."

His time may be running out, but Smith still has many things to ponder.