WITH around 10,000 of their fans expected to be in Vienna, if not the Allianz Stadium, when they take on Rapid in their final Europa League group game tonight, Rangers players have never had a better chance to prove their mettle.
A defeat to Aberdeen at home and a draw with struggling Dundee away last week has seen them knocked off top spot in the Ladbrokes Premiership and led to their ability to the cope with the demands of playing for the Ibrox called into question.
Yet, a win in their final Group G match here in Austria this evening will swiftly silence their detractors as well as secure a place in the last 32 of the competition.
Steven Gerrard has been unfazed by the fallout to their last two results. He is confident the same is true of his charges. If anything, he expects the incredible backing they will receive to bring out the very best in them.
Asked about the huge travelling support who have descended on Vienna, of whom only around 2,500 will be inside the ground, Gerrard said: “It can help the players. The fans are coming here in their thousands to get behind the team and to show their support. That should be a huge motivation. It was for me as a player.
“It’s a fantastic match. It’s no surprise they have come over in numbers because they are passionate and love the club and have been doing that for years. As manager I want them to be safe and enjoy the game. I don’t want to give them a message about the game, I want my players to give the message by giving the supporters a performance of which they can be proud because the rewards are worth it.”
Gerrard was bitterly disappointed by Rangers’ last two displays, but he knows what his men, who have only suffered a single defeat in 13 games in Europe this season, are capable of when they perform.
The manager, who will welcome back Scott Arfield and leading scorer Alfredo Morelos, is hopeful they can reproduce the form they showed against Maribor, Ufa, Villarreal and Rapid previously in their continental campaign and can get the result they need to go through.
“I don’t think we’ve shown the true Rangers, nor the standards we’ve set since the start of the season, in the last two performances,” he said. “But this is a different game, a different style.
“We believe Rapid will come out and attack us and we’re expecting a positive performance with a vocal fan base behind them. We don’t expect them to sit deep and contain and look to spoil like in the last two matches. This game will suit us.
“It will be a tough game for us on what looks like it is going to be a difficult pitch. But we have shown before that when the challenge is 50-50, or we are underdogs, that we have responded really well.
“We want to keep trying to achieve things. I think we have done extremely well in Europe so far, I think we have overachieved.
“I don’t think many people gave us a chance to qualify through four qualifying rounds. I don’t think many people gave us a chance when the draw was made because ourselves and Rapid were huge underdogs.
“So tomorrow is a chance for us to prove that we belong here and are capable of going a stage further. But whatever happens, on the European journey the players have done themselves proud.”
Gerrard and his players trained on a pitch adjacent to the stadium they will play at this evening after they arrived in Austria yesterday due to the poor quality of the playing surface.
The former Liverpool and England midfielder doesn’t feel that will disadvantage the visitors, but he admitted he may alter his game plan and approach the fixture differently because of it.
“The pitch actually looks okay, but underfoot it does seem wet,” he said. “So I think it is a sensible decision to stay off it right now because it does look as if it is going to cut up. We’ll see what the next 24 hours brings in terms of the weather, but I am expecting a messy pitch.
“But it is the same for both teams. We might have to adapt during the game. I think the pitch will start okay because we are staying off it. But if it does cut up, we might have to adapt. We will make the players aware of what not to do in certain situations. If it cuts up, it doesn’t make sense to be overplaying.”
Gerrard will be without Daniel Candeias, who is suspended after being ordered off against Villarreal a fortnight ago, and Ryan Kent, who has a hamstring injury, and their absences will create a selection issue for him out wide.
But the former Champions League winner, who is in his debut season as a manager, is delighted that Rangers have an opportunity to progress to the knockout rounds of the Europa League.
“From a European point of view, we would have taken this position at the start of the season and certainly 12 months ago given where this team were,” he said. “But we want to push forward and progress and it would be a huge achievement if we progress to the last 32.
“In terms of the league, seven days ago we were sitting top and I had to remain humble and keep expectations in check. After two bad results I’m not going to panic and think everything is going wrong. We’ll keep pushing. We’re a new team and it takes time, but we’re really looking forward to the challenge moving forward.”
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