BARRY FERGUSON wants his team to embrace the occasion as Rangers take on Athletic Club in the second-leg of the UEFA Europa League quarter-finals tomorrow evening.
It’s a huge night in Spain for the Light Blues, and with the tie level at 0-0 after last week’s match at Ibrox, the head coach sees it as a big opportunity for his side to reach the last four of the competition.
Speaking to the media at this evening’s press conference, he said: “I think the game is wide open. I spoke with the players today and these are the games you want to be involved in as a football manager and as a player.
“We are looking forward to it, but we also understand we are up against a very good team who have got a very good home record so we will need to really be prepared, and we have worked hard over the last couple of days.
“You have got to look forward to these occasions, you have got to embrace these occasions and that is certainly something I am hopeful we will do.”
Ferguson said he had positive news on the injury front, with a number of players returning from injury, while John Souttar and Mohamed Diomande will also be welcomed back from suspension.
He continued: “It is good news, Leon Balogun, Vaclav Cerny, Bailey Rice and Ridvan all trained today and there has been no issues so hopefully we are going to be strong.
“Also, we have got John Souttar and Diomande back so we are looking pretty healthy but I just need to wait until tomorrow morning to speak to the medical staff and hopefully I get the thumbs up.”
With consistency an issue in the league this campaign, Ferguson is hopeful the squad can continue their fine European form tomorrow evening. He added: “The Europa League form has been very consistent and obviously domestically there has been issues.
“It is something we have been trying to work hard at, but we need to continue that form and if we do that, I think we’ll have a real good opportunity to progress to the semi-final.
“When we have the ball, certainly in a stadium like this you need to be able to keep it, so we have spoken about that. We need to defend because they are a very attack-minded team but also when we gain possession of the ball we need to be better and that is something we have spoken about and we have worked on.”