Barry Ferguson sends Rangers Europa League warning after draw
Barry Ferguson has issued Rangers a warning ahead of their Europa League quarter-final against Braga, while also claiming winning the tournament would be the biggest achievement ever.
The Bears were drawn against the Portuguese side on Friday and will face them over two legs for a place in the semi-finals next month.
But despite admitting it is a favourable draw for the Ibrox club, he’s told them not to get too far ahead of themselves and told Go Radio that if they were to win it it would be the biggest achievement in the club’s history.
“Yeah, if they get there,” he said. “They’re only in the quarter-finals just now. Braga are there for a reason and they’re a good team. They put out Monaco.
“That tells me Braga are a decent footballing team and Rangers will be in for a tough game. But the way European nights have went for Rangers this year, they’ve got every opportunity.
“There’s every possibility (Rangers could win it), they’ve made the quarter-finals, but don’t write Braga off.
“A lot of people will be looking at the draw. It’s a favourable draw, no doubt about it, when you look at some of the teams Rangers could’ve got.
“It’s a winnable tie and it was a brilliant achievement last night getting through into the quarter-finals.
“So it’s a real opportunity for them, but don’t look too far forward. I’m sure the Rangers manager will be saying the same thing.”
Straight and narrow
If Rangers are to be successful in Europe this season, they need to keep their heads down and not get carried away.
As Ferguson says, each team in the competition is there for a reason and have earned their place in the last eight. They will all feel that this is their year and that they can win it, not just Rangers.
But what Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s side have as an advantage is that their coach’s style is more suited to Europe and they’re being kept sharp domestically as they chase a second straight league title.
They cannot afford to get complacent otherwise they’ll lose out to Celtic back home, which means they’re at their flying best whenever they turn up in Europe too.
It would be a huge achievement to win it, with Ferguson saying it would be the biggest ever, but they cannot get carried away just yet.
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