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Standard Liège coach Philippe Montanier has labelled Glasgow Rangers ’one of the best teams in Europe’ ahead of their meeting in the Europa League on Thursday. Rangers kick off their European campaign on Thursday with a trip to take on the Belgian side in Group D. Steven Gerrard’s side are heading into the game in good form, having started their league campaign with nine wins from 11 games, conceding just three goals thus far. Their excellent start continued over the weekend with an 2-0 win over Rivals Celtic in the Old Firm Derby, thanks to a brace from Connor Goldson, a result that put them four points clear at the top of the Scottish Premiership. It means Rangers will head into their clash with Liège full of confidence, and Gerrard’s opposite number Montanier was full of praise ahead of the match. “We have a strong group, we have to win at home,” Walfoot report him saying. “But in terms of statistics, we will play against one of the best teams in Europe. “They have planted 37 goals, conceded four goals and made 11 clean sheets in all competitions up to now. “They are not developing a traditional Scottish game, and Steven Gerrard does a very good job. “A two-way team, they defend and attack together. Our opponent is fast, technical and moving forward. We will have to be wary of that.” Like Rangers, Liège have had a good start to the season themselves, with five wins from their first nine games. Their weekend was not as joyous as the Gers’, although a 1-1 draw with league leaders Club Brugge was widely considered a good result given they are in the Champions League. And Montanier is hoping they will once again be able to raise their performance when Rangers come to town. “Brugge had a big performance in the Champions League,” he added. “And we stood up to them on Saturday night. We are able to raise our level against big opponents. “This will be the case against Rangers; we are wary but confident about our last performance.” http://sportwitness.co.uk/glasgow-rangers-standard-liege-europa-league-steven-gerrard/

Neil Lennon has branded Maurice Ross an 'embarrassment' — and told him to say sorry to Celtic’s players. The former Rangers defender, now first-team coach at Motherwell, slammed Celts in a radio interview after Saturday’s Old Firm defeat. Ross claimed it was the weakest Celtic line-up in 20 years and insisted Lennon’s side only had a basic understanding of how to play their 3-5-2 formation. The ex-Scotland full-back also questioned why Leigh Griffiths and Albian Ajeti still weren’t fit enough to start the derby clash. But seething Lennon — whose side face AC Milan — has revealed he has already received an apology from Fir Park boss Steve Robinson for Ross’s remarks. Lennon rapped: “I was surprised and very disappointed. Stephen contacted me to apologise profusely. He found it embarrassing. “I think Motherwell, as a club, have really good people there and they found it embarrassing as well. “And to be honest with you, I found the comments embarrassing for Maurice rather than anyone else. “He’s an employee of another Premiership team and I don’t think he should be making any comment at all on any other team or any other players.” Lennon now insists Ross owes the Celtic players an apology. He added: “The comments, in particular on Ajeti, on Griffiths, on the money that Shane Duffy may or may not be on, I think were abysmal. “There is a professional standard, a professional etiquette, a professional respect and I think Maurice was lacking in all three of those. “I don’t think he owes me an apology, I think he owes my players an apology, I think he owes my coaching staff an apology and I think he owes my club an apology. “I think he owes his own club an apology too.” Ross’s bombshell remarks came on Sunday on Radio Scotland’s Sportsound programme. The ex-Gers defender said: “That starting 11 was probably the weakest I’ve seen from them in 20 years. “Griffiths, struggling for fitness? How long does he take to get fit that boy, Ajeti?” Ross also infuriated St Mirren with comments he made during the same radio show. Saints were forced to postpone their game against Well after three of their players tested positive for Covid-19. Saints chief executive Tony Fitzpatrick accused Ross of suggesting his side had taken advantage of the situation and wrote to Motherwell to complain. https://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/sport/football/6186789/celtic-lennon-motherwell-apologise-ross-ajeti-duffy-griffiths/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Twitter#Echobox=1603315885

as Rangers boss provides contract update. Steven Gerrard has 'made his feelings known' to the Ibrox board as he looks to tie midfielder Glen Kamara down to a new long term deal. The Finnish internationalist earned rave reviews for his performance in the Old Firm win over Celtic on Saturday as Rangers maintained their unbeaten start to the Premiership campaign. Gerrard has stressed his desire to keep Kamara as part of his squad for as long as possible and the situation is now in the hands of Sporting Director Ross Wilson. The former Dundee star is in line to start against Standard Liege on Thursday night and Gerrard is delighted with the form of one of his most impressive operators. “I don't know is the answer to your question," Gerrard said when asked if talks over a new deal would be sped up in the aftermath of Kamara's Old Firm showing. "If it was my decision the answer would be yes. “I've made my feelings known to Ross and the board on that situation. “Glen has been fantastic for me since day one. He's grown and he's evolved. He's improved and he's listened. “There were different areas of his game that we felt we could shape and help him become a better player. “But he is the one who has really gone out and worked on his game both in and out of possession. “He's in a fantastic place and is playing with confidence. “He was superb at the weekend but for me he has been really consistent for much longer than that. “We want Glen around us for as long as possible and everyone knows my feelings on that situation.” https://www.glasgowtimes.co.uk/sport/18812283.steven-gerrard-wants-glen-kamara-around-as-long-possible-rangers-boss-provides-contract-update/?ref=twtrec

They are all tough games in Europe, better teams than we face in the league, but it brings the best out of our team when a team tries to play football and win a match. Our European record under SG is fantastic so far, tough games but good good games.

The teenage "pitbull" who Rangers must muzzle to end Standard Liege's six year unbeaten home run in Europe RANGERS have been warned they will have to muzzle the teenage “pitbull” who has taken Belgian football by storm this season to stand any chance of ending Standard Liege’s remarkable 15 game unbeaten run at home in Europe. Steven Gerrard’s side play their opening Europa League group game against Philippe Montanier’s team in the Stade Maurice Dufrasne tomorrow evening and have high hopes of getting off to a winning start. The Ibrox club have done well away from home against foreign opposition in recent seasons and have recorded impressive results against the likes of Braga, Feyenoord, Legia Warsaw, Porto, Villarreal and Willem II. Yet, Liege, who drew 1-1 with Jupiler Pro League leaders Club Brugge at home on Saturday, promise to be as difficult to overcome as any outfit they have faced on their travels since returning to continental competition three years ago. The Reds last suffered a defeat in their Sclessin stadium in Europe way back in 2014 and in the last seven seasons they have beaten or drawn with rivals as renowned as Ajax, Arsenal, Celta Vigo, Eintracht Frankfurt and Sevilla. Arsenal, who drew 2-2 with Liege in the Europa League group stages last term, are the only side to have taken a point off them at their intimidating 27,670 capacity arena in their last nine outings. Whoever plays for the Glasgow club in midfield out of Scott Arfield, Steven Davis, Ryan Jack and Glen Kamara looks set to have a particularly demanding evening. New manager Montanier, who has previously had spells in charge of Valenciennes, Real Sociedad, Rennes, Nottingham Forest and Lens, has shown he is unafraid to give youth a chance since being brought in back in June. Nicolas Raskin, a combative, creative, tough-tackling and industrious presence in the centre of the park, has repaid the faith the experienced French coach has shown in him and then some. “Standard are doing well this season,” said Bob Faesen of Belgian newspaper Het Belang van Limburg. “They drew with Brugge, who are the best team in Belgium, after scoring a controversial late penalty at the weekend, but it was a fair result. They have got a new coach and a lot of good young players. “Raskin has come in to the side. He was at Gent before Liege and made his debut there as a 16-year-old. After that he didn’t push on and play. But he has been given his chance at Standard this season and he has taken it. “He is still only 19, but he has really shone. He is a box-to-box midfielder. He can play in every position in the middle of the park. He is technically gifted, but he is also a bit of a pitbull. He can run a lot, is powerful and has a good shot. He has been one of the big surprises in Belgium football this season and will be a key player for Liege who Rangers will need to be wary of.” However, it isn’t just the Rangers midfielders who can expect a torrid 90 minutes in their opening Group D fixture – their striker will have his work cut out getting past a gifted young defender who has been tipped to become the next superstar of Belgian football. “The most important player for Liege is Zinho Vanheusden,” said Faesen. “He is only 21, but he is the Standard captain now. He is a real leader. He is one of the biggest talents in country. He won his first cap for the national team in a friendly against the Ivory Coast earlier this month. “He was bought from Inter Milan last year, but he will go back there next year. It is kind of a loan deal. He was brought in to help out with Inter’s financial fair play problems and so they could bring in Romelu Lukaka from Manchester United. “He was brought in to Standard for a €12.5m fee, a Belgian record, last year, but he will go back to Inter for €20m next year. He is seen by many people as the successor to Vincent Kompany and Jan Vertonghen. Everybody expects him to be in the national team for a long time in the coming years.” Faesen added: “A lot of the time Liege set up with three at the back, in a 3-4-3 formation, but they have versatile, flexible players who are adaptable and they can change formation during the course of a match. Having an individual like Raskin, who can perform a number of roles, enables them to do that. “They are more attack-minded than defensive. They like to press teams high up the park. But they have conceded the fewest shots on goal in the Belgian league this season so that shows they are strong at the back as well.” Up front, however, Montanier doesn’t have quite the same quality at his disposal as he does elsewhere. Selim Amallah, the Moroccan midfielder who has netted six times in the 2020/21 campaign, is his leading scorer. But three of his strikes came from the penalty spot. “Liege’s problem is they don’t have a real goalscorer,” said Faesen. “Obbi Oulare, who played for Watford, has played up front, but he has had a lot of injury problems. The same is true of Felipe Avenatti, the Uruguayan. “On Saturday Liege played Mikel Ange Balikwisha, who is also quite young and is more of a winger. But Oulare and Avenatti were unavailable so it was either him or nothing. Elsewhere, Jackson Muleka is also out injured.” Standard Liege were in real danger of being demoted to the fourth tier of Belgian football earlier this year due to serious financial problems which were exacerbated by the coronavirus outbreak and football shutdown. They were denied their professional licence by their national federation due to outstanding payments to players and only won it back after appealing to the country’s court of sports arbitration. Multi-million euro loans from famous former players Marouane Fellaini and Axel Witsel as well as a substantial investment from local pharmaceutical magnate Francois Fornieri, who bought 50 per cent of the shares, saved them from oblivion. Rangers, despite their impressive showings in Europe since Steven Gerrard was appointed manager and fine recent form, can’t bank on a result in the Stade Maurice Dufrasne this week unless they perform at their very best. https://www.heraldscotland.com/sport/18809407.teenage-pitbull-rangers-must-muzzle-end-standard-lieges-six-year-unbeaten-home-run-europe/

Goldson really deserves the award for his overall play, he is commanding and shows great leadership from the back, to score 2 goals in this fixture shouldn't be underestimated, it is noticeable whoever plays beside him at the back looks good and he has had a great start to the season so I'm going for Goldson. Kamara was a stand out in midfield and when he is on his game he truly is a top player and it's hard to believe we got him for £50k, he also deserves a shout for MOTM. So Goldson for me.

The only thing that has stopped us from winning the league has been our consistency, we could/should have went on to win it last season but as we all know we lost our way. So again as we all know we have to take care of every team other than them, we are a better team v them as has been proved recently, if we beat every other team we will win the title. One match at a time as they say, but I get the impression the players realize this now, let's hope they do anyway!

CLUB STATEMENT St Mirren chief executive Tony Fitzpatrick has written to his Motherwell counterpart Alan Burrows to complain about unacceptable statements by Fir Park coach Maurice Ross during a BBC Radio Scotland broadcast in which Ross cast doubt on the reasons for St Mirren seeking the COVID-related cancellation of Saturday’s scheduled clash between the two clubs. The text of Tony’s letter reads: "I am writing to express my disappointment at the comments of Maurice Ross on the above Podcast following the postponement of the fixture between our respective clubs on Saturday 17 October. "In particular I deprecate any suggestion that we or any other football club would take advantage of this pandemic for personal gain. Any notion that we have been “opportunistic” in seeking to discharge our public health responsibilities is a fallacy. I cannot fathom why Mr Ross would seek to publicly call into question the integrity of a fellow SPFL member club for adhering to the agreed protocols which are in place to protect players, officials and clubs. "As we, and all football clubs in Scotland, try to navigate our way through these difficult times the comments of Mr Ross are both unfortunate and unhelpful. "With respect I would suggest Mr Ross might want to reflect on the comments which he broadcast to the nation and I am sure he will support your fellow clubs in being hyper vigilant as we work together to tackle this virus. I would be grateful if he could avoid such derisory language in future." https://www.stmirren.com/all-news/3799-club-statement-9

All 42 Scottish Professional Football League clubs will be consulted on contingency plans for another incomplete season. The governing body aims to formulate a strategy for titles, promotions and relegations in the event of a coronavirus-related curtailment. Clubs will be asked a series of questions regarding their views. However, only if there is a consensus of similar opinion is it likely a formal ballot will take place. In late July, the SPFL board lost a vote to take control of the season should there be a repeat of the Covid-19 shutdown. The plans for a consultation with clubs emerged after all 42 SPFL sides held a meeting on Monday morning. Several games have already been postponed this season, with Motherwell's last two fixtures called off on the day of the match after their opponents - Kilmarnock and St Mirren - did not have a sufficient number of players to get the matches on. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/54604857

If you watch the highlights from our win there last time, when they get their penalty keep your eyes on Brown elbow/forearm into Tav face, nothing said about that either.

Keep your eye on Broonaldo at 2:48 on hitting out at Barisic.