‘Amazing’ – Scott Arfield gives verdict on Rangers clash v Red Star Belgrade
Rangers ace Scott Arfield is expecting the Europa League clash against Red Star Belgrade to be amazing on Thursday, with Ibrox welcoming a “top, top team”.
The Bears progressed into the last 16 of the tournament with a brilliant 6-4 aggregate win over Borussia Dortmund, and will now take on the Serbian outfit with the first leg this week.
But while Rangers have been installed as favourites by many after their exploits in the last round, Arfield has admitted to Daily Record that he thinks Red Star are a ‘terrific’ team and expects an ‘amazing’ game.
“I think there is an expectation, people will probably put us as favourites for this, but we don’t see ourselves as that,” he said.
“We see it as a top, top team coming to Ibrox. They won their group. It’s going to be amazing. I think the expectation for us is always the same, to try and win those games.
“It doesn’t matter who we play against, whether it’s a bigger stature club in terms of Borussia or teams like this that are coming here.
“Red Star are a terrific team. They are in this stage of the competition for a reason.”
Dream big
If Rangers can draw from their momentum of that big victory over Dortmund, then there is no reason they shouldn’t be favourites here.
Red Star are a solid team with plenty of quality, but the way Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s side swept Dortmund aside in Germany shows that they’re also full of quality and can tear teams apart.
The mentality that Arfield is showing is the correct one, not underestimating the opponent but also showing confidence in his own side.
The fans are being relatively timid with their predictions for Europe too so as to not get too carried away, but they really do have a brilliant opportunity here to get through to the quarter-finals.
Ibrox will be rocking on Thursday as they look to earn a big win heading into the second leg the following week, and there is a very real chance of another big performance.
In other Rangers news, ‘Utter madness’ – Kris Boyd slams Rangers after major midweek development