Ange Postecoglou has been warned a hostile Ibrox awaits him and his beleaguered Tottenham team.
The former Celtic boss returns to Glasgow with Spurs struggling for form and fitness and Rangers purring after four straight wins during which they have scored 14 and conceded only once.
‘European nights are always the best at Ibrox,’ said Rangers captain James Tavernier. ‘The crowd is electric. They’re on top of you, and really behind you. It will be a great atmosphere and we’ll try to make it as hard as possible for Tottenham.
‘I believe they can be affected because if you go back to the run to Seville, them European nights and some of the atmospheres I’ve never experienced that. Some really big nights, 50,000 in the stadium. Hopefully we can recreate that.’
Tottenham were certainly affected by the ferocity of the crowd against Galatasaray in Istanbul, when Postecoglou fielded a young team because of injuries and his desire to rest some senior players. Rattled, they conceded three and were reduced to 10 men before half time. They improved when he made changes in the second half but were still beaten.
Spurs under Postecoglou will always give their opponents chances. The Rangers players were tuned in live from the team bus on the way back from Ross County on Sunday to see them conceding four in defeat against Chelsea.
Ange Postecoglou has been warned that a hostile environment awaits him on Thursday
Postecoglou will take his Tottenham team to Ibrox to take on Rangers in the Europa League
Rangers captain James Tavernier has backed his side’s fans to make the difference
Tavernier’s younger brother Marcus was in the Bournemouth team that beat Spurs 1-0 last week.
‘I watched my brother’s game really closely,’ said the Rangers skipper. ‘We’ve look at a lot of clips of how Tottenham have played. Bournemouth pressed them high, didn’t give them much time and had a lot of chances. We’ve been really clinical, so it’s about us being clinical and not conceding.’
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Rangers boss Phillippe Clement urged his players to seize the opportunity, recalling one night in the San Siro when he was part of a Bruges team which beat the mighty AC Milan 1-0 in October 2003.
‘Everything can be bridged in one night,’ said Clement. ‘I had luck and not only luck, hard work, to win as a player when the gap is amazingly big. Those are the best nights, doing something special. When we get together people still talk about that evening.
‘Rangers have those nights in their history. With our fans on these European evenings it is something special, something magical. If they are brave there is a lot of energy coming out of the stands.
‘I’m convinced it is possible these players can have a performance to remember for the rest of their lives. For the players, these nights are challenges to write history.’
