Tav: I knew we were in with a shout weeks ago
JAMES TAVERNIER has revealed he sensed something special was brewing in the Europa League WEEKS before Rangers secured their place in Seville.
The competition’s top scorer can cement his place in Ibrox folklore if he leads his side to glory tomorrow night.
Knockout wins over Borussia Dortmund, Red Star Belgrade, Braga and RB Leipzig have led to a date with destiny in Seville and the skipper had faith they would get there.
Speaking to UEFA’s official website, he said: “It’s no surprise we’re in the final. We thoroughly deserve it because we push each other every single day to better ourselves.
“You want to compete with the best teams in Europe. It sets a marker where you want to get to as a minimum, you want to beat that, and we’ve done that.
“Funnily enough, I had a conversation a couple of weeks ago with Connor (Goldson) and I said ‘We’ve got a good chance of this.’
“We’ve already beaten Dortmund and you’ve got to back yourselves.
“But we’re playing against another team that’s knocked out another favourite (Barcelona) in the competition. So we’ll know to respect Frankfurt because they’ve earned the right to be in the final.
“But we’ll fully back ourselves going into a one-off game.”
While Tavernier wears the armband, he is quick to give credit to other big hitters within the Ibrox dressing room when it comes to sharing the leadership duties.
He added: “It’s just been trying to be the best version I can be on the pitch for the players, trying to lead by example and be the best driving force I can.
“We’ve got a great group of boys, great experience in
Greggsy (Allan McGregor) and Davo (Steven Davis), Aaron Ramsey who’s joined us, Connor [Goldson]... there’s a few more that I could name.
“We’re a great group and it is the best changing room I’ve been in.
“If anyone needs a push, we’re all there together. If anything needs changing, we’ll all have a chat with each other but we’re all on the same page.”
Tavernier is the leading candidate to secure the tournament’s golden boot with seven goals so far – an achievement made more remarkable as a right-back.
He revealed he was inspired by the likes of brilliant Brazilian full-backs Cafu, Dani Alves and Marcelo to go on the attack.
He said: “I love getting forward, even in training. I love scoring goals.
“Marcelo or Dani Alves were my go-to guys, even Cafu. I loved watching the Brazilians, how attacking they were. They’re people that I really look up to.
“Do the forwards at Rangers feel threatened by my goalscoring? I’m still going for Alfredo (Morelos). He’s our top goalscorer and I’ve got to get three more to beat him. That’s my aim.”