European qualification is crucial says Lovenkrands

[JFK-1 1,693]

PETER LOVENKRANDS had good reason to cast his mind back 11 years yesterday and savour his historic goal against Inter Milan that produced an improbable qualification to the last 16 of the Champions League for Rangers. It was on December 6, 2005 that the Dane secured a 1-1 draw with the Nerazzurri offering some welcome joy against a dismal domestic backdrop in which Alex McLeish’s side were 17 points behind Celtic in fifth position.

 

His recollections only heightened his assertion of how important it is for Mark Warburton to return Rangers to UEFA competition next season and he feels momentum is now with the Ibrox club and can be considerably enhanced with victory over Hearts on Saturday. Lovenkrands was there last Saturday to watch a spirited performance and deserved victory over Aberdeen that returned Rangers to second positon and he now feels they can hold onto it for the remainder of the campaign.

 

The Dane said: “There have been happy memories for me this week as it was 11 years that I scored that goal against Inter Milan. “The atmosphere was incredible and it was such a great feeling to get the goal that took the club through to the last 16 for the first time because I knew how much it meant to everyone. “It was amazing to be part of that. I had always dreamed of scoring in the Champions League but to score such an important goal was just fantastic.

 

“We need Rangers back there. It might not be Champions League next season but it will be massive to get into the Europa League. “It gets the name out there again which attracts players and, of course, it brings in a lot of money too. “So it’s vital that Rangers get into Europe and I feel this phase of games can take them a long way towards that target. “If they beat Hearts on Saturday it will be another big moment because it stops another one of their rivals in their tracks.”

 

The hotly-debated appointment of Ian Cathro as Hearts’ new Head Coach has added another dimension to this Saturday’s meeting at Ibrox and Lovenkrands is interested to see if he can handle a baptism of fire. He said: “It was important for Rangers to show a reaction after the defeat at Tynecastle last midweek and they did that with a very good and deserved win over Aberdeen. Now they have the chance to get back at Hearts this weekend.

 

“The atmosphere is also bound to be massive again on the back of what happened in the Aberdeen game. “I would expect the fans to be back out in their droves again to roar them on. “I think it will be a completely different game to the one we saw at Tynecastle for a variety of reasons. “The new manager has just come in and it will be very interesting to see how he handles his first game.

 

“I have heard from my Newcastle contacts that he is a good coach and looks very promising. “He is unusual in the game because he never played at a high level but he seems to have great knowledge and good ideas. “This is his first job as a manager so it will be interesting to see how he handles it. “It will be nerve-wracking to say the least, coming to Ibrox.”

 

Lovenkrands feels there were a number of encouraging elements to Rangers’ play last weekend, most notably the performance of Lee Hodson at right back and also the inter-play between Barrie McKay and Lee Wallace – a staple of last season’s form. He said: “Lee deservedly won the man of the match last Saturday and surely he can’t be left out this weekend.

 

“I felt the defence looked really solid last week – Clint Hill and Rob Kiernan were also excellent – but for that one blip when Jayden Stockley should have scored with a header. “Scoring what proved to be the winning goal was the icing on the cake for him, but his overall performance was very good.

 

“Defensively he was very strong and it would be incredibly harsh to take out the man of the match who scored the winning goal. “I would be very disappointed if that happened. He has to keep his place. “That’s not to say that James Tavernier can’t play as well because he came on last week to play in midfield and it worked well.

 

“We also know how good he can be from set pieces so we know his value. “But Hodson has got to stay in the team at right back for me. “I suppose it’s good for the manager that he has two players fighting for the position. “Barrie McKay and Lee Wallace looked to be linking well again last weekend and that augurs well for Rangers.

 

“Barrie gets into great positions and Wallace has that power to overlap and look for the pass. “Hopefully that’s Barrie coming back into his rhythm and showing the quality that he did last season and it would be nice to see him get more goals under his belt. “I’m hoping that Rangers can really kick on after that Aberdeen result and finish the year strongly to cement second place so winning on Saturday would be another big step.”

 

http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/sport/14949968.European_qualification_is_crucial_for_Rangers_this_season__says_Peter_Lovenkrands/?ref=mr&lp=17#comments-anchor

[Tannochsidebear 2,410]

As I recall we had already qualified as a result of Ross McCormack's goal in Porto two weeks earlier (I was there!) and that this was a dead rubber match. Am I going mental or is it just another example of a paper getting their facts wrong?

[Frankie 8,562]

No, we needed a draw as far as I remember and I can recall the fans waiting nervously in the stands after our final whistle had went.

 

This was because if Artmedia had beaten Porto, we'd have been out - instead they drew 0-0.