Connor Barron in defiant Rangers vow as lingering pressure point is dismissed ahead of Fenerbahce firecracker
Avoid a record fourth defeat in a row tomorrow night and Rangers will be looking forward to a Europa League quarter final spot.
Rangers v Fenerbahce – Europa League preview
They survived hell in Istanbul without being burned. And Connor Barron insists Rangers are ready to handle the heat at home too and blaze a trail into the Europa League quarter finals.
The backdrop to tonight’s blockbuster tie with Jose Mourinho’s Fenerbahce is as explosive a mix of fortunes as you could imagine.
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While last Thursday’s sensational 3-1 victory in the Sukru Saracoglu Stadium cauldron was as impressive as it was unexpected it’s now cranked up the expectation on Barry Ferguson’s squad to finish the job at Ibrox.
And it goes without saying that their last three outings on home turf suggest that red hot pressure might not to be everyone in Ferguson’s squad’s liking.
Defeats to Motherwell, St Mirren and Queen’s Park have turned Ibrox from a fortress into something more akin to a feeding ground for hungry domestic rivals.
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It sees the current squad on the brink of making unwanted history as the first Rangers side to lose four home games on the trot EVER. Ferguson said himself after last week’s win in Turkey that playing at Ibrox has become a bit of a problem lately.
(Image: Kirk O’Rourke/Rangers FC/REX/Shutterstock)
But Barron has promised this side won’t wilt in the ferocious Fenerbahce fire tonight. And he insists accusations they can’t handle the expectations won’t play on their minds as they go after another tumultuous European night on their home turf.
He said: “No. Not at all. We go out there with confidence and need to get through to the next round. That’s all that our team’s focused on.
“Every single one of us is focused on getting through to the next round and that’s the only thing we need to care about. You’ve got to go out and meet every game head-on. You’re at a big club, these are big matches, every game’s a big match.
“So, you’ve got to go out and play yourself properly and make sure that you do all you can to get through the tie. It would be a massive achievement of course. We want to go as far as we can in the competition.
“As I say, we’ve pulled a couple of knocks and bumps on the road but it’s about how you overcome them in the week. In the future now we’ve got to take every game as it comes and make sure we win every game we play.”
Confident talk from the former Aberdeen man who was outstanding at the base of midfield in Istanbul seven days ago after returning from a knee injury.
Up against the vastly experienced Susan Tadic and Sofyan Amrabat, Barron’s energy and discipline was key to holding the shape and protecting the defence when the pressure built.
Last season he was part of the Aberdeen side that performed well in the Europa Conference League. But this is a whole new level.
And it’s one in which Barron feels like he belongs – especially now he has a master of his position to learn from in Ferguson.
He said: “Yeah, it was great. Every game in Europe you’re always playing against top, top players and it’s nice to challenge yourself in games like that.
“Yeah, just go out and play football, that’s what you’ve got to do. You’ve got to go out and win matches and that’s all that’s in my head to be honest.
“It’s not who I’m playing against, it’s what I can do to help the team and what we need to do every game is win matches and that’s an important thing for me.
“It’s been great under the manager. We’ve had a few individual sessions after training. He’s taken me under his wing and taught me different things in my game that I can improve on, which has been great.
“He was obviously a top, top player himself and it’s great to learn off him and pick up every little bit of advice he’s got for me and try and help improve myself.
“All the staff have been great. They’ve been right in about the boys and it’s been really clear messages we’ve had going into the games.
“You’ve got to play well, you’ve got to keep yourself in the team. That’s down to me, that’s down to nobody else. Obviously it was great that I was in last Thursday after being injured, it was a positive. But as I say, it’s down to me to keep myself in the team and it’s nobody else.”
Job half done has been the mantra in the Ibrox camp this week. And Barron reckons it will take an even bigger performance than last week to ensure they snare that last eight tie against Roma or Atletico Bilbao.
He said: “We know it’s not done. We need to do better than what we were over there.
“Fenerbahce are a top, top side. So, we respect them and we’ve got to make sure that we’re on the ball.
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