GORD WRONG ABOUT ALFIE
ALLIANZ, TONIGHT 5.55, BT SPORT 3 LAST 32 DRAW
we’ve faced in the last two matches. This game will suit us. It’s more of a 50-50 match. We have major respect for the opposition. Like us, Rapid were the underdogs to progress and it’s a fantastic game for both teams.
“From a European point of view we are certainly ahead of schedule. We would have taken this position at the start of the season and certainly 12 months ago when you consider where this team were. But we want to push forward and progress to the last 32.”
Up to 10,000 Rangers fans have made the trip to Austria, most of them ticketless, with local police warning about forgeries doing the rounds at 15 euros a pop.
Gerrard said: “The fans are coming here in their thousands to get behind the team and to show their support. That should be a huge motivation, it was for me as a player.
“The numbers are no surprise as I’ve had incredible support since I walked through the door. This club’s had magnificent support for years.
“We want to keep trying to achieve and we have done extremely well in Europe so far – in fact, we have over achieved.
“Not many gave us a chance to qualify through four qualifying rounds and not many people gave us a chance when the draw was made. This is a chance for us to prove we belong here and are capable of going a stage further. Whatever happens, the players have done themselves proud.” DRAW on Monday sections at 12noon in two – seeded and Top unseeded two teams teams. from each of the Europa League 12 groups are guaranteed place in the draw. a Teams from same drawn country can’t against each be other. Seeded sides are 12 group winners four best third-placed and teams. Champions League Runners-up and Champions remaining League sides Seeded are unseeded. – Arsenal, Chelsea, Zagreb, Dynamo Dinamo Kiev, Eintracht Red Bull Salzburg, Frankfurt, Inter Zenit St Petersburg, Milan, Napoli, Benfica, Valencia. Unseeded – Fenerbahce, Sporting Lazio, Lisbon, Galatasaray, Shakhtar Donetsk, Club Brugge, Viktoria Plzen. First legs on Feb 14, returns on Feb 21. FROM BACK PAGE they were moved to a nearby grass park to fine tune preparations.
Strachan’s stinging remarks were the last thing on Gerrard’s mind as he wished Parkhead rival Leigh Griffiths well and revealed Ryan Kent is almost certainly out of the Old Firm match on December 29.
Strachan accused Colombian frontman Morelos of being selfish and questioned his mental strength to perform for the Ibrox club after three red cards this season, one of them later rescinded, and 12 yellows.
Gerrard said: “I wasn’t aware of any comments that were made but if that’s what was said I’ll have to disagree with the Alfredo one. He has scored 17 goals and his form is very good so I’ll have to disagree with that one.
“It doesn’t irk me. If I had an opinion on Celtic when Gordon was manager I don’t think he’d have taken too much notice of it.
“Therefore, I don’t think I’m going to take too much notice of what an ex-Celtic manager says about my team.”
Rangers will go into a game that could net them up to £2million in qualification, group and win bonuses, missing key men in wide areas. Daniel Candeias is suspended and Liverpool loanee Kent was left at home after he hobbled off injured in Sunday’s 1-1 draw at Dundee, putting his place against Celtic later this month in jeopardy. Gerrard said: “Ryan will definitely be out for a couple of weeks. He has a hamstring issue on the other leg which is a huge disappointment for us. Daniel’s suspension doesn’t help because it leaves us without a really good player. “However, we’ll choose a team to get a result, leave everything out on the pitch and see where it takes us. “I don’t see the state of the pitch as being a big problem. It was a sensible decision to ask both clubs to stay off it before the match, the pitch looks quite wet. It’s sensible to keep it in the best shape possible for both teams because it’s going to be a huge game. “We’ll have to see how it plays. The pitch looks really good on the eye but it feels pretty wet underfoot. “It’s the same for both teams. We don’t like to use excuses and we will focus on our game plan and what we have to do to win the match.” Meanwhile Gerrard sent his best wishes to Griffiths who entered rehab in a bid to conquer demons that have troubled him recently. He said: “We wish Leigh well and hope to see him back on a football pitch pretty soon.”