James Tavernier hungry for wild Rangers Europa League scenes as stars gear up another Gio style glory run
It's two years since Rangers got Gio off to a flying Euro start and now they're targeting the same for Philippe Clement.
A victory over Sparta Prague was the launchpad for Giovanni van Bronckhorst and Rangers as together they set course for Seville.
Now James Tavernier hopes another can ignite a fresh Euro thrill ride under Philippe Clement as the Light Blues aim for the stars again. It’s coming up on two years since van Bronckhorst was called back to Ibrox to replace Steven Gerrard. The Dutchman’s first match in charge of a team he’d spent three years pulling the strings for as a player was against a Sparta side that had already beaten Gerrard’s Rangers in the Czech capital.
That Epet Arena setback followed defeat to Lyon in the group opener, putting Europa League progress in huge doubt. But by the time Van Bronckhorst arrived for his dugout debut in Round 5, Rangers only needed three points to qualify for the knockout stages. Alfredo Morelos’ double duly delivered what was required, setting up a fabulous four-month adventure that only came to its agonising end when Aaron Ramsey failed to put his penalty past Kevin Trapp in the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan Stadium.
A return to the latter stages of this season’s tournament seems unlikely given the disastrous start to the campaign – which hit its lowest ebb when the managerless Ibrox outfit crashed to Cypriot minnows Aris Limassol. But with new boss Clement now in charge and looking to drive up standards, Tavernier isn’t ruling it out.
The captain said: “The group is level (with all four teams on three points) and it’s a restart now because we have a new gaffer and can still come top of the group. Prague is the first game of the boss taking charge in Europe and it’s a game we want to do really well in. It’s a place where we’ve been before, we know what it’s all about.
“We will try to go over there and get the three points and get back on track for getting through to the next round. Domestic and European football are two different standards with different ways to set up and the way we want to play.
“Most weeks we are playing compact teams with ten or 11 players behind the ball and we are trying to break them down. In Europe, the game is more open and you get more chances but they also have more of an attacking threat so it’s something that we relish and we’ve had really good success in this tournament.
“We always want to win and it’s a competition that a few of us have held really close in getting to the final. We hope to repeat the great scenes that we had in the build up to that.”
Clement has quickly put his stamp on his new side, with Rangers looking quicker, sharper, hungrier as they chewed up Hibs during Saturday’s 4-0 feast. Another win would give Rangers something to really tuck into as their group campaign hits the halfway mark.
Tavernier said: “It would give us big confidence if we can go over there and get the result. The gaffer has implemented the confidence in us every day in training with the way he wants us to conduct ourselves, the way he’s conducted himself with us all.
“It starts on the training pitch. You can’t just turn it on when it’s a match day. You have to train yourselves in the right way and your mind in the right way. Every day he’s implementing his own things and it’s really good to see.”
Group C could easily stand for carnage given the unexpected drama we’ve seen play out so far. Michael Beale’s Gers team claimed the surprise scalp of Real Betis before the axe fell on the Englishman’s 11-month reign.
Prague didn’t have it all their own way on Matchday One as they were forced to come from behind to beat Limassol. But roles were reversed next time out as Sparta slumped narrowly at Betis while Gers were humbled by group-stage rookies Aris.
Tavernier can’t hide from the fact his team were miles below acceptable levels that night but is now seeking to make amends against Brian Priske’s outfit. “Yeah, it was a difficult night,” confessed the captain. The performance didn’t go our way. I couldn’t really put my finger on what it was down to.
“We obviously conceded two goals that were avoidable but we put ourselves in a good position against Betis at the start of the group and now we are even. It’s time to put more points on the board and get through to the next round.”
Keeping in-form frontman Abdallah Sima firing will be crucial to that aim. The Brighton loanee has now scored seven goals in his last seven games, making it nine for the season. But Tavernier wants to see other frontmen sharing the load. He said: “He has been a real attacking threat for us this season. He’s got electric pace and can finish in difficult areas.
“Generally with our forwards, we have to give them better service as a team. We need to get around them and give them opportunities to get on the scoresheet the same as Abdallah.”