Giovanni van Bronckhorst says Rangers toasted Jimmy Bell after reaching Europa League Final
Rangers dedicated their Europa League semi-final victory to the former kit man
Giovanni van Bronckhorst revealed Rangers toasted Jimmy Bell after setting up a Europa League Final against Eintracht Frankfurt with a 3-2 aggregate win over RB Leipzig at Ibrox.
Before the start of the second leg of the semi-final there was a minute's silence for the much loved kit man who died on Tuesday and what followed was an incredible evening in Govan.
The Gers were trailing 1-0 from the first leg in Germany but drew level in the 18th minute thanks to captain James Tavernier's close-range finish before midfielder Glen Kamara drove in a terrific second just six minutes later.
French forward Christopher Nkunku levelled the tie in the 70th minute with an excellent volley but Gers midfielder John Lundstram fired in with 10 minutes remaining to book Rangers place in the Seville final against Frankfurt, who overcame West Ham.
Former Rangers player van Bronckhorst, and his first season as Gers boss, said: "The interaction with the fans was amazing.
"I played so many games here as a player and from last November as a manager but the atmosphere was incredible. That helped a lot.
"You could see the celebrations afterwards, we were happy, we were celebrating to reach the final, also in the locker room and it was really nice.
"But we ended the atmosphere of partying and took a moment to let the achievement sink in and have a really nice toast for Jimmy who I am sure was watching from above and we toasted his life and achievements, what he has done for this club.
"We will miss him for the rest of our lives and again in Seville we will prepare for another proud moment for this club."
The Dutchman admitted he was "proud of the performance of my team" after a fraught period when the visitors made it 2-1 on the night and 2-2 on aggregate. He said: "It was an amazing night from the start.
"We had the start we wanted, to score first which was very important.
"We managed to get two goals which was amazing.
"At half time we knew it was going to be harder the second half because they needed to push and they did.
"After a great save by Allan (McGregor), it was 2-1 and I think that was the critical moment for both teams.
"We were defending but they were coming at us with so much speed and power and I knew either goal would be decisive but to score in the
83rd minute not only gave us the belief- that was there - but the energy and power to play out the last minutes."