Postecoglou highlights Rangers 'quality', feels Philippe Clement will be unhappy with one thing in 2024/25
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A lot has changed at Rangers since the last time Ange Postecoglou, the Tottenham Hotspur boss and Thursday’s Europa League opponent, last patrolled the Ibrox touchline.
It was May 2023, Mick Beale was in the opposite dugout, and Todd Cantwell ran the show as Rangers cruised past a Celtic side taking their foot off the gas following yet another Scottish Premiership triumph.
In fact, of the 16 Rangers players who featured in Ange Postecoglou’s 11th and final Old Firm derby, only half of those remain. Connor Goldson, Ryan Jack, John Lundstram and the aforementioned Cantwell, to name but a few, are part of The Gers’ past these days.
But forget about the past, what about the present?
What weapons to Rangers have in their armoury these days with which to blast away their old cross-Glasgow rival when Tottenham Hotspur come to town?
Well, Postecoglou is certainly not taking the threat of Philippe Clement’s team lightly even if Rangers are 11 points adrift of Celtic at the top of the Scottish Premiership table.
Clement’s team have a League Cup final to look forward to this weekend, after all. And, scoring nine goals in their last three Europa League matches and 14 in their last four across all competitions, an injury-hit Spurs backline will be challenged up against Hamza Igamane; the rampaging Moroccan scoring for fun in that blue shirt.
- READ MORE:Rangers Europa League Record Since 2017
Ange Postecoglou highlights Rangers’ ‘quality’ ahead of Tottenham Hotspur clash
“Probably their domestic season in the league has not gone as well as they would've liked,” Postecoglou said during his pre-match press conference. “But you can tell there's still the elements of quality there.
“They are in the cup final at weekend and have 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.”
That, in itself, explains the frustration felt by many Rangers supporters.
‘At their best’, to quote Postecoglou, Clement’s team are capable of outrunning and outmuscling pretty impressive opposition. Rangers cruised past Nice 4-1 last time out in Europe, even if a team sitting sixth in France’s top flight are going through something of an injury crisis.
But, throwing away points against the likes of Dundee United and Kilmarnock domestically, who knows which face Rangers will show against Tottenham?
Speaking of injury crises, meanwhile, Spurs will be without defensive trio Micky van de Ven, Cristian Romero and Ben Davies.
Postecoglou indicated that 18-year-old Archie Gray could start at centre-half. And the teenager may feel like he’s been thrown in at the deep end without armbands if Igamane is on song once again.
Furthermore, while Rangers have underperformed in Scotland recently, those in blue have often saved their best performances for continental competition.
Former Celtic boss Postecoglou ready for Ibrox atmosphere
“When I was up here, they made the Europa League final,” Postecoglou adds, Rangers only missing out on a European trophy due to a penalty shoot-out defeat by Eintracht Frankfurt.
“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.
“It's part of the experience. We played Galatasaray in the last away game [in a 3-2 defeat] and that was a pretty decent atmosphere as well. We've got a young team at the moment 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.”
