Advocaat encounter stirs bad European memories for Davis

THE Rangers fan in Steven Davis adored Dick Advocaat. The Rangers player in him harbours rather different memories. Davis is the only squad survivor at Ibrox from the 2008 UEFA Cup final, when Walter Smith’s men lost 2-0 to a Zenit St Petersburg side under the Dutchman’s management. It was a painful near miss. Having grown up in thrall to Advocaat’s stylish Ibrox team at the turn of the millennium, Davis is now relishing another chance to get the right result in opposition to the 72-year-old. Victory for Rangers in this evening’s Europa League Group G meeting with Feyenoord could push them into the last 32 with a game to spare. ‘I have never met Dick but I knew him as a Rangers fan growing up,’ said Davis, who was 13 when Advocaat was appointed at Ibrox in 1998. ‘I looked up to a lot of the players and that was actually a period when I was coming over to the club on trial. ‘I have fond memories of that era. There were so many players I enjoyed watching. I didn’t manage to go to any European games but I’d watch them on TV back home. ‘He did a great job when he was here but obviously I don’t have great memories from the 2008 final. ‘I wouldn’t say it was my lowest day in football as we did so well to get there in the first place. ‘We wanted to enjoy the occasion as much as possible but obviously if you don’t get a result you can’t do that. ‘When you look back on that and think about the achievement of reaching the final, there is fondness. At that stage though, you want to win it.’ Davis also featured when Rangers last played European football beyond Christmas, reaching the last 16 of the UEFA Cup in March 2011 before losing to PSV Eindhoven.

Emerging from their section would be a significant statement about the potential of the current squad. And that will be the outcome if Steven Gerrard’s side can better the result Porto achieve against Young Boys in Bern.

‘It would be a huge boost for everyone at the club if we could qualify,’ admitted Davis. ‘It’s been a good journey so far since the qualifiers in July. We’re enjoying testing ourselves against these type of sides and we’ve coped well so far.

‘We want to keep the journey going for as long as possible and qualify from the group. We want to get it done as soon as possible but if you’d offered us the chance to qualify with a win in the final game then we’d have taken it.

‘But we’ve put ourselves in a strong position in the group with two difficult games to come. The work isn’t done but if we can replicate the performances we’ve shown to date then it will give us a good opportunity.’

Davis played in De Kuip just last month as Northern Ireland conceded late goals to lose 3-1 against Holland in a Euro 2020 qualifier.

He knows hostility will await upon his return, but believes Rangers will be inspired by that intense atmosphere.

‘Our fans have been looking forward to this one since the draw was made,’ said Davis, with Rangers supporters holding an official 3,000 allocation.

‘The players are the same and I know how good the atmosphere can be from the Northern Ireland game. We brought a lot of fans with us and there was great noise.

‘That atmosphere is something the players thrive on. You want to play in great arenas like this, on a good pitch against a technical side.

‘This is a great game for us and I’m sure Feyenoord will be thinking the same.’