Ange Postecoglou was back in Glasgow and spoke to the media ahead of our training session at Ibrox on Wednesday evening to preview our UEFA Europa League MD6 clash against Rangers on Thursday night (8pm).
Here's what he had to say...
Overall thoughts
First up, Ange was asked how much he was looking forward to such a big game...
Ange: "It’s obviously significant for a couple of reasons. When the draw came out it was the one that was of most interest to me because of my history up here. Looking forward to it, it should be a good game, and in the context of where we are in Europe, an important game for both clubs. A positive result gets you a good way to getting through to the knockout stages, so looking forward to it."
Atmosphere
Ange was asked about the atmosphere he expects at Ibrox...
Ange: "When I was up here, particularly my first year, they made the Europa League final (2022) so I’ve got a pretty clear idea of how challenging it is to play them here in front of that crowd, with the atmosphere but, at the same time, it’s exciting. You look forward to big games and I’m sure the players are as well."
Do you have to warn players of the atmosphere?
Ange: "It’s part of the experience. We played Galatasaray in the last away game and that was a pretty decent atmosphere as well. We’ve got a young team at the moment and and the more we can expose them to games like this the better it will serve us moving forward. If we get through to the knockout rounds, they’re the kind of games where is going to be a pretty hot atmosphere and you’ve got to be able to handle that and look forward to it as well because you want to play in games like that."
Rangers
What did Ange expect from Rangers?
Ange: "Probably their domestic season in the league has not gone as well as they would’ve liked, but you can tell there’s still the elements of quality there, they’re in the cup final at weekend (Scottish League Cup vs Celtic) and done really well in Europe. For us, it’s a one-off game and in one-off games, you’re always looking to see how teams perform when they’re at their best. At their best, they’ve shown they’re still a good outfit and a good challenge for us."