Barry Ferguson has urged his Rangers side to show their quality and seize the opportunity to reach the Europa League semi-finals by defeating Athletic Bilbao.
After a dramatic but goalless first leg in Glasgow, the sides meet at the San Mames stadium on Thursday knowing the winner on the night will progress to take on Lyon or Manchester United in the last four of the competition.
Ferguson says he knows the scale of the challenge but sees a chance for a memorable result and a big achievement.
“You’re in a quarter-final and have a brilliant opportunity,” the Rangers manager said. “I think the game is wide open, as I mentioned after last Thursday’s game.
“I spoke to the players today and these are the games you want to be involved in as a footballer and as a manager.
“We’re looking forward to it. But we also understand that we’re up against a very good team, who have got a very good home record.
“We will need to be very prepared. We’ve worked pretty hard over the last couple of days and we’re looking forward to the game now.”
Ferguson was part of a Rangers team that reached the final of the competition when it was known as the UEFA Cup and that side had to grind out results under pressure on the road to Manchester. Asked what his current team could learn from the 2008 side, he was clear what he wanted them to take on board.
“Same work ethic,” he said. “That team I played in was very workmanlike and that’s what I want to see from my team.
“But we also have good footballers so when we have the ball, certainly in a stadium like this, we need to be able to keep it. So we’ve spoken about that as well.
“We need to defend because they are a very attack-minded team but also when we gain possession we need to be better and we’ve worked on that.”
Ferguson has been lifted by positive news on the injury front with key players likely to start, as well as an important duo returning from injury and increasing his options.
“Leon Balogun, Ridvan Yilmaz, Vaclav Cerny and Bailey Rice all trained so hopefully when they waken up tomorrow there’s been no issues,” he said. “So hopefully we’re going to be strong because we’ve also got John Souttar back and Mohamed Diomande.
“Things are looking pretty healthy but I just need to see in the morning and speak to the medical staff.”
Now the former Rangers captain, who won 15 major honours in his time as a player at Ibrox, is eyeing a result he says would match his former achievements.
“It would rank right up there,” he said. “Six weeks ago I wouldn’t have imagined standing at the sideline as manager of Glasgow Rangers.
“It would rank up there with what I’ve done in football as a player, there’s no doubt in my mind about that.
“But it’s not about me, and I’ve always said that, it’s about my group of players going and showing their qualities at the highest level.
“This is a high level game for us and I’m confident that they will go and show that tomorrow night.”
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