Kanchelskis backs Gers to beat ‘naive’ Ufa
Former Manchester United star Andrei Kanchelskis is ideally placed to assess Rangers’ Europa League tie with FC Ufa this week.
He played for the Ibrox side and managed the Russians. And he’s convinced the Light Blues will be too strong for Ufa and can book their place in the group stages of the competition. Steven Gerrard’s side eased past Maribor in midweek, and now face the Bashkortostan side in the play-off round, with the first leg at Ibrox on Thursday. Kanchelskis signed for Rangers in 1998 and won two league titles, three Scottish Cups and a League Cup. When he moved into coaching after he retired, he became the first-ever manager of Ufa, and helped them win promotion from the third tier of Russian football to the Premier League. He then went on to manage Jurmala in Latvia and Solyaris Moscow. Forty-nine-year-old Kanchelskis – who was capped by the Soviet Union, the CIS and Russia – is convinced Rangers will be too strong for Ufa. He said: “I would say the chances are 70% in favour of Rangers. “I watched Ufa in their match in Luxembourg against Progres Niederkorn, and they looked terrible. “If they play like that against Rangers, they will lose heavily. “Perhaps Ufa were tired, but they also looked naive tactically, too. “I couldn’t see what style they were attempting to play. “In fairness to Ufa, just getting to the this stage in their first season in European football is an achievement in itself. “The first leg in Glasgow will see 50,000 fans at Ibrox, and a full stadium will be a new experience for them. “With Rangers, even when they were in the fourth division in Scotland, they were still getting around 30,000 fans every week. “I had a great time, both when I was a player in Glasgow and when I was manager of Ufa. “So I will support both teams and hope for two great games of football. “But I honestly think Rangers will comfortably win.”