Barry Ferguson thinks Rangers game v Celtic is bigger than Braga
Barry Ferguson believes the Scottish Cup semi-final between Rangers and Celtic is the ‘biggest game of the season’, even moreso than the game against Braga.
The Bears suffered defeat to both Celtic and Braga last week, before rebounding with a big 4-0 win over St Mirren at the weekend.
Now Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s side face quick rematches with both sides on Thursday and Sunday, but former captain Ferguson told Go Radio he believes the domestic game is ‘absolutely massive’ and says the focus should go towards that.
“I want Rangers to beat both Braga and Celtic, of course,” he said.
“Come Sunday, I don’t know how to put it. It’s massive, absolutely massive that they try and make sure they’re in that cup final against Hearts or Hibs.
“But it’s going to be tough, you just see the form Celtic are in, they’re relentless. But Rangers need to throw everything at Braga and Celtic.
“Can they win the Europa League? It’s going to be hard, getting to the semis would be an amazing achievement.
“Then the focus goes on to Sunday, which for me, is the biggest game of the season.”
Now or never
It’s more than fair to say that Rangers’ season rests solely on their next two games now, and if they’re unable to secure two wins then fans will be rightly disappointed.
From a potential treble after the international break, they could find themselves empty handed just two weeks later because of poor form and that would be unacceptable.
If Rangers could’ve selected their own Europa League draw it’s likely they would have picked to play Braga, while an Old Firm derby in a cup semi-final is something nobody in blue should need to get up for.
But they need to give focus to both games, not just one in order to avoid that disappointment. If you ask fans which one they want to win, I think they’d be pretty split on their opinion.
That tells you that they need to go for both with the same intensity and focus in order to maximise their chances. A win over Braga sets them up perfectly for Sunday, but elimination will likely lead to disaster at Parkhead.
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