John Souttar knows Rangers need to improve in Europe after Hearts stalemate

John Souttar concedes Rangers will have to show improvement from Tynecastle when they face Dynamo Kyiv in the first leg of their Champions League third qualifier.

The Light Blues dropped two points in the William Hill Premiership opener at Hearts on Saturday where neither side could get the breakthrough.

There is little respite for Rangers who now have to get ready for the trip to Poland, where their first European game of the season will be played on Tuesday night.

Scotland defender Souttar said: “We will (have to step it up). All the preparation has been on this (Hearts game) so we haven’t looked at them.

“We will do in the next few days. We will need to step it up from what we did there. As a group, we are confident we can go there and get a positive result.

“There were times last year when we maybe did not have a great result at the weekend and then performed well in Europe. We can take confidence from that on Tuesday and go and do the same.

“Between pre-season and now it is basically full on. We were well aware of that for weeks and we have built towards that physically and tactically we have built towards that as well. We need to show it on the pitch on Tuesday.

“Of course we are dying to be part of it. I think everyone in their right mind would want to play Champions League football. It is top level. Everyone will put in everything they can to get there.”

Philippe Clement is in the midst of a rebuild although Connor Barron was the only one of nine summer signings to start for the first time for Rangers against Hearts, albeit fellow new boy Vaclav Cerny came on as a second-half substitute.

Former Jambos defender Souttar insists there will be no excuses offered in Poland, although he expects there is more to come from the new signings.

He said: “No. There will be no excuses on our behalf and hopefully we won’t need to use any excuses and we will be going through.

“As players we concentrate on the football, I am sure you are all aware of that.

“We do everything we can, everything we can to control what we do. We are looking forward to Tuesday.

“I thought they (new boys) did well. It is going to take time for them to bed in, take time to be themselves in the group, especially when you come from different countries and it is difficult to get used to the language and the culture. Even their families off the pitch.

“It will take time for them to relax and bed in but it is important that the boys here support them and give them everything they can to do that.”