SKIPPER UNFAZED BY LACK OF FANS

JAMES TAVERNIER says Rangers won’t be knocked off their stride by a lack of support as they face Young Boys in Berne tomorrow night. The Ibrox club opted against taking tickets for their first Europa League group fixture on the road in response to being sanctioned by UEFA for ‘racist behaviour’ during the first leg of their play-off tie with Legia Warsaw in Poland in August. The unprecedented action by the club means Steven Gerrard’s men will walk out into the Stade de Suisse with only a few hundred fans who have independently bought tickets backing them. Boosted by an opening-night victory against Feyenoord, though, Tavernier feels the players can deal with the unusual circumstance and dig out the kind of result against the Swiss champions which would slash the odds on the Glasgow giants making it to the last 32. ‘Young Boys are a good team and there are no away fans travelling, so it is going to be a tough game,’ said Tavernier. ‘They were in the Champions League last season. But if we can perform at the levels we can, we will go toe-to-toe with them.’ Fourth seeds when the draw was made, Gerrard’s men faced an uphill battle to go one better than last year and secure a place in the top half of the group over the course of six ties. The invaluable victory against Feyenoord has sent confidence surging through Gerrard’s camp, though, with Tavernier now convinced the Ibrox side are capable of taking something from each of their remaining five matches in the section. ‘We are not here to make up the numbers,’ he added. ‘We want to go as far as we can. We were right at it against Feyenoord. I back our boys to go toe-to-toe with the big clubs.’