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Gerrard expects side to relish reception
STEVEN GERRARD is confident his players will relish being given a white-hot reception by Legia Warsaw’s passionate fanbase. The Ibrox manager expects to encounter a thoroughly hostile atmosphere inside the Polish Army Stadium this evening as his side seek a positive result in the first leg of their Europa League play-off. Legia are expecting a 31,000 sell-out for the match — their first since a Champions League campaign in 2016/17 — with the overwhelming majority of that crowd intent on trying to knock Rangers out of their stride. Local interest in the tie is intense, but Gerrard fully expects the Ibrox squad to thrive within the cauldron and produce a peak performance. ‘I think it is very difficult to gauge this test against previous tests since I came to the club, whether that be against Maribor, Ufa, Osijek or other teams,’ said Gerrard. ‘One thing is for sure, however — this will be a tough test. They will be two close encounters over both ties. We have two good teams fighting for the same prize. ‘I have big belief and I back my players to deliver. My experience of this team is that when the challenge
gets tough, they stand up. I think the hostility here in Legia will bring the best out of my team and I have every confidence we will get the result we need. ‘Having said that, I don’t think this tie will be decided tomorrow. I think it will go to the wire.’ Legia have yet to concede a goal in six qualifying matches so far, having achieved two-legged wins over Europa of Gibraltar, Finnish side KuPS and Greeks Atromitos. However, with Alfredo Morelos and Jermain Defoe both in excellent scoring form, Gerrard (below) feels Rangers have the armoury to break that resistance. The Ibrox outfit have already netted 19 times in Europe this term. ‘Legia are very well organised and they don’t concede many goals,’ said Gerrard. ‘I think the key tomorrow is to try and find our level, to reach the performances we managed in the last tie against Midtjylland. ‘If we do, I have confidence we will find a breakthrough. The important thing for us is to keep creating chances because we do have players in good form. ‘Whatever the test and challenge and belief in front of us, we always have confidence and belief that we can go and strike when the time comes within the game. ‘I believe Legia will come and be aggressive and try to press us high, especially in the early stages. ‘So, while we have to handle that and cope under pressure, it should give us opportunities to go and strike in the space behind. But time will tell whether we can execute in those moments.’ Gerrard also explained the late change to his Europa League squad, that saw Filip Helander replace Brandon Barker on the UEFA list. The £3million centreback had been omitted from the list originally submitted but the Ibrox manager said that was primarily an administrative issue. ‘The rules are you get up to 24 hours to confirm the squad anyway,’ he added. ‘There is a big rush to get the squad of 22 over immediately, so when we qualified against Midtjylland, within 24 hours, they (UEFA) were looking for us to give a squad of 22 straight away. ‘I don’t know why. Don’t read more into it — I’ve got 24 hours to finalise my squad and I didn’t confirm it until this morning.’