Rangers must be aware of shock against Red Star Belgrade in Europa League
Rangers completed one of the biggest shocks of this season’s Europa League as they knocked Borussia Dortmund out of the competition on Thursday.
Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s side were remarkable in Germany during the first leg and finished it off at Ibrox to set up a round of 16 tie against Serbian champions Red Star Belgrade.
The 1990-91 European Cup winners won their group losing just once and will offer a stern test of the Light Blues that mustn’t be underestimated.
Rangers beat Dortmund despite a £190m squad value deficit, as detailed by the Daily Record, but the tables will turn when the Serbians arrive in Glasgow on 10 March.
Crveno-beli might not come with the same modern reputation of Marco Rose’s Borussia Dortmund but they are as formidable as the Bundesliga side and any complacency will be at a huge cost to the Gers.
It is a danger that some fans or even Light Blues staff members may see Red Star in the same light as Dortmund looked at Rangers and that is a very dangerous precedent.
They have first-hand experience of how the underdog can cause a shock to the so-called “big boys” and they absolutely cannot afford to be on the opposite end of the same tale.
With a titanic Scottish Premiership title fight also brewing, van Bronckhorst can’t afford to rest and rotate in the league which may see him do so against the Serbians.
That would be horrible decision making and one that he would come to regret if he did so.
When 10 March comes around, van Bronckhorst must insist on the same intensity and passion as shown against the German side because anything less will result in a humiliating night for all at Rangers.
In other Rangers news, Motherwell manager Graham Alexander has warned the Gers that they won’t sit back at Ibrox on Sunday.