The B Team assistant boss expressed his excitement to welcome the Spanish side to Scotland in the knockout stages of the tournament but also outlined the squad are prepared for what will be a challenging game.
Speaking exclusively to RangersTV ahead of the fixture, he said: “We’re excited, we’ve been waiting on it for a while now since the last round. Now that it’s on the doorstep, the boys are ready and we’re really looking forward to it.
“It’s another progression in the round and we know that we are up against a top side, we are under no illusion that it will be a tough test. Everybody is excited but focused on the game and the tough challenge ahead.
“If you look at the earlier runs in the European ties where it’s also been knockout the only difference being is that it is over two legs. We’ve treated that as each game at a time, but this one being the one-off game we hope that we can go and take advantage of that with it being a home tie.
“We are fully focused on what that means, as always, we’ll go out to try and win the game in 90 minutes, but whatever the game throws at us – we’ll be ready for it.”
Gilmour also reflected on the way the Young Gers have performed in the competition so far and the challenges they are now ready to face.
He continued: “I think it’s been pleasing, there are different challenges on that when you talk about knockout football the aim from the offset is to progress to the next round, which we have done so far.
“We have come up against some good sides, but [Septemvri] Sofia are a team that have been playing in the Champions League so we are definitely aware that there will be a different step and challenges that will come away with this one.”
Gilmour looked ahead to Tuesday afternoon’s game and outlined the objectives the squad must set themselves to be successful in the 90 minutes.
He added: “First and foremost, we need to win the game. It’s moving through the competition, trying to navigate your way through it, but like always there will be different challenges put on the players.
“Performance will be big, and we’ll look to try and have some entertaining stuff for the supporters that will come and watch the lad’s play. We’ll also want to look a certain way with the ball and out of possession, being aggressive, being compact in our shape to go on the front foot when we don’t have the ball. There will be different sets of challenges in the game, but overall, in knockout football it’s about winning the game.”
Gilmour said that the support the team have received from the fans during this competition has had a positive influence on how the squad perform and would love to welcome a big crowd again on Tuesday.
He said: “I think it has a positive impact on the players, every player will tell you that they want to play in front of the biggest and noisiest crowd. It adds to the atmosphere and to the game to give the players that bit of a buzz, it’s an added part of the adrenaline. There’s also expectation that comes with that to go and perform and that’s why we want these things. We’re delighted that it’s a home tie and we hope that the fans in the stadium can go and get fully behind the boys and give them the support.”
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