‘Formidable’ Rangers hailed by rival bosses after Euro joy

Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou believes Rangers’ European success is further proof of how formidable an opponent the Ibrox side have been.

Postecoglou praised Gers for reaching the Europa League final with victory over RB Leipzig.

“They have done awfully well and they have deserved it,” said the Celtic manager, whose team could win the Scottish title this weekend.

“Over two legs, they were the better team and deserve to be in the final, and have been really strong in Europe all year.

“It’s been a tough week for them with the passing of Jimmy Bell. Whenever you work inside a football club and lose someone who has been such an integral part of the fabric, it must have been a tough week, particularly for the players and staff who dealt with him.

“They deserved to get through to the final and I think it says they are a very good football team, which I think they proved last year by going through the season undefeated, which is no mean feat, and this year with their strong performances in pretty much all the competitions.

“For us, I knew it was probably going to be our biggest challenge this year, apart from our own form and how we performed.

“If we were going to be successful we had to overcome a pretty formidable opponent.”

Dundee manager Mark McGhee claimed he had a tear in his eye when Rangers got through.

He was part of the last

Scottish team to win a European trophy when Aberdeen claimed the Cup Winners’ Cup in 1983, said: “I watched the game and was in close contact with a lot of my friends who are Rangers supporters by text during the game and I have to say at the end it brought a tear to my eye. I am not exaggerating. I was so happy for them.

“It was just absolutely magnificent for Rangers and it reflects brilliantly on Scottish football.”

St Johnstone manager Callum Davidson hailed Rangers’ “phenomenal” achievement.

He said: “Some of the results they have had going through the knockout stages have been tremendous. It has shown that Scottish football isn’t in a bad place.”