James Tavernier Hopes For An Electric Atmosphere At Ibrox

JAMES Tavernier hopes the Rangers squad and supporters can make it as ‘hard as possible’ for Tottenham Hotspur as they visit Ibrox tomorrow evening.

The Light Blues host the Premier League side in matchday five of the UEFA Europa League league phase, and the captain believes the electric Ibrox atmosphere can play a huge part in the game.

Tavernier spoke to the media at this afternoon’s pre-match press conference and said: “We are really looking forward to it, it is a big European game, we have put ourselves in a great position, so it is just about continuing to do that.

“We have had good form of late, so it is about keeping the consistency and really applying our game tomorrow night.

“I am expecting Ibrox to be jumping. It is down to us to get the crowd right behind us from the start. European nights are always the best at Ibrox, I have said in the past the crowd is electric, they are always on top of you, really behind you, but that comes down to us getting the crowd behind us.

“It will be a great atmosphere, and everyone will be really looking forward to it and trying to make it as hard as possible for Tottenham.

“If you go back and think about the run to Seville, the sound, and the atmosphere, I have never experienced anything like that. There were some really big nights, and they were really special so hopefully we can create that atmosphere.”

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111224 Press Conference, James Tavernier 04

On what he expects from the visitors tomorrow evening, Tavernier continued: “They have got a top-quality side, they are a top Premier League team and it is obviously a European night so it is a different type of game.

“I expect a good opponent that is going to play their style and we are going to try to play our style and hopefully we can come out of it with the three points.

“We know it is going to be a tough game, so it is about grasping it, taking it by the scruff of the neck, getting the result that we want and putting in a performance that the fans are really proud of.

“The fans expect us to perform in every single game. Whether we are playing in a Scottish Cup game against a lower league team or playing one of the top sides in Europe they expect us to put in a performance that they are proud of, and we have got to go out there and show that.”

With three clean sheets in the last three matches, Tavernier hopes the squad can continue to build on recent consistency heading into this week.

He added: “We tweaked a little bit in the tactics, and it really suits the team, the team is performing so it is coming at a good stage. You want to have that throughout the season, but you can't be perfect all the time. It is about just continuing to work hard and that is what everyone is doing.

“Sometimes it can be the opponent, it can be us as a team, we have been very critical of ourselves in a lot of performances, but I think of late we have been really clinical and getting our rewards when we get in those positions.

“It is about us keeping clean sheets and we have been doing really well with that of late as a team with the front pressure. Everyone has been doing that, so it is all about continuing now.

“We are always looking for that consistency and the past three games have shown really good signs of the performances as a team and different ways we can win.”

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111224 Training, James Tavernier 40

When asked about his own position in the team, and the competition with Dujon Sterling, Tavernier said they both push each other to help the team moving forward.

He continued: “Dujon and I are really close, and we want to push each other, the whole team wants to push each other, it is not the starting XI. Everyone is pushing to get that chance and when asked to perform for the shirt we are all in it together. We all want to win the same things and we are all going to continue to keep pushing each other throughout the season. It is only healthy to have people pushing each other in a squad.

“You can never expect to start, you will get too comfortable, and you don't want that, you always want to be pushing yourself. Every single week I never expect myself to start, I always try to push myself and that is what I will continue to do even when I have not been playing. It has just been about pushing hard and helping the team.”


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