WE DON’T FEAR ANY SIDE IN LAST-16 DRAW
After heroics in Braga, Rangers skipper Tavernier tells big guns ...
ON an unforgettable evening on the side of a mountain in northern Portugal, Rangers scaled new heights in Europe under Steven Gerrard.
Storming into the last 16 of the Europa League for the first time since 2011, the Ibrox side could now face the likes of Inter Milan, Manchester United, Arsenal — or Celtic, if their Old Firm rivals see off FC Copenhagen at Parkhead tonight.
But in ruthlessly shutting out the tournament’s top scorers here in the picturesque Municipal Stadium in Braga, James Tavernier insists the Ibrox squad won’t be watching tomorrow’s draw through the cracks of their fingers.
After becoming the first Scottish club to win both rounds of a post-group stage knockout tie since Celtic against Blackburn Rovers in 2002, these players will understandably fear nobody.
‘When we play like we did tonight, does it matter who we get in the next round? Not necessarily, no,’ said Ibrox captain Tavernier.
‘I have full faith in the lads. If we all stick to our tasks like we did tonight, then we have shown we are a really hard team to beat.
‘We have shown that over the course of this European campaign and the football we have played during it. Tonight we listened to the gaffer and the staff and the tactics they wanted us to play.
‘To a man, we carried it out perfectly and we got an incredible result. I think this is our best performance since I’ve been at Rangers. Braga are the highestscoring team in the Europa League and they are the best team I have played against since I came to this club.
‘They are so clever at using the ball and they have so many talented players. They are just a terrific team, who beat Wolves home and away earlier in the competition. That’s what makes it so satisfying.
‘We are delighted to get to the last 16 and we can’t wait for the draw. Who do I want? I’m just looking forward to the draw ...’
Tavernier also revealed his side’s sublime performance in this 1-0 win was a touch bittersweet. How can a team defend so imperiously against elite opponents and yet stumble and trip in the Scottish Premiership to bottom-six sides like St Johnstone and Hearts, whom Rangers face in a tricky Scottish Cup tie at Tynecastle on Saturday?
‘I’m delighted and disappointed at the same time,’ continued Tavernier. ‘I’m delighted at keeping a clean sheet against a team like Braga, but we need to replicate that domestically.
‘It’s just disappointing that the full performance has not always been there domestically and it has cost us points.
‘I can’t put my finger on (why Europe seems to suit us). Maybe it’s mentality. Maybe it’s focus.
‘The big European nights and the Old Firm games take care of themselves. Everyone is fully tuned in, but maybe domestically we have not been fully tuned in at times and that’s cost us.
‘That’s something we need to correct but we have shown signs of being a great team. ‘We have set a standard tonight here in Braga and we can’t fall below that. Everyone has seen us and we need to carry out that kind of performance until the end of the season. ‘Domestically, we need to find solutions going forward and we have to stop conceding sloppy goals. But, from this display against Braga tonight, it looks like we are going in the right direction.’ While hailing the performance for answering critics, midfielder Ryan Jack also conceded Rangers had merited the stick that has been flying their way as they dropped 12 points behind leaders Celtic in the Premiership since their return from the winter break. ‘What a performance,’ Jack said. ‘Everyone has been having a wee dig at us — and rightly so because it’s not been good enough — but it just shows what we can achieve when we stick together. The mentality of the group has been questioned and that definitely fires us up. I know it fires me up.
‘When times are tough, people will have an opinion and write and say things but, at a big club, you have to take that.
‘But it’s important that we stick together in the changing room. We have done that and we have come to a very tough place against a very good team and that is something to build on for the rest of the season.’
The only downside for Rangers was that they could have buried Braga under an avalanche of goals. Florian Kamberi and Ryan Kent missed big chances while Ianis Hagi became the latest Rangers player to fall victim to the club’s penalty curse with six out of ten missed this season.
Hagi and Kent, however, combined to make amends, with the Romanian playmaker’s exquisite through ball ending with the former Liverpool winger scoring a wonderful winner.
‘We went in at half-time and all the boys were frustrated,’ admitted Jack. ‘We were up against a top-class side and we had to forget the fact we created so many chances.
‘The staff had put together a gameplan and we had worked on it since the St Johnstone game. We bought into it, stuck to it to a man, and it worked and nobody could have grudged us a bigger win.
‘It felt like we were clicking again and everyone was on the same page. We were ahead in the tie, so they had to come and beat us and that’s a different challenge. But we need to take this kind of performance into the Scottish Cup against Hearts on Saturday.’