Mohamed Diomande says he is ready to make up for lost time and help guide Rangers into the semi-finals of the Europa League after watching from the sidelines as his teammates battled to a first-leg draw against Athletic Bilbao.
The Ivorian midfielder, who was suspended for last week’s goalless quarter-final clash at Ibrox due to a booking picked up against Fenerbahce in the previous round, cut a frustrated figure in the stands.
But after witnessing the grit and resilience of Barry Ferguson’s side, Diomande is determined to repay that faith and do what it takes to guide his team into the final four.
“It’s very unlucky to have to watch a game from the stands,” he admitted. “It was difficult for me to sit down, to not try to move for every action. I was really glad with what my team did—their effort, their commitment and the fight they had for each other.”
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With the tie still finely poised at 0-0, Rangers travel to the Basque country full of belief that they can cause an upset—especially after defying the odds to hold Bilbao on home turf despite playing the majority of the match with 10 men.
Diomande, who came off the bench at Pittodrie on Sunday as Rangers roared back from 2-0 down to earn a thrilling 2-2 draw against Aberdeen in the Scottish Premiership, believes the performance and the fight shown by a heavily rotated side proves that the squad is ready for anything.
That match ended in heated full-time exchanges, with Diomande hinting emotions were running high due to the nature of the comeback and the stakes involved. But attention has swiftly turned to Thursday's showdown in Spain—where Diomande is pushing for a start.
“I hope [to start], but I don’t know what the starting eleven is going to be for Thursday,” he said. “We still have two trainings before we go. So I’m going to give my best in training and I really hope I get a chance to play and help my team.”
Ferguson, whose reputation has soared since returning to Ibrox as manager thanks to wins over Fenerbahce and rivals Celtic, now faces arguably his biggest test yet.
But his influence during his short tenure so far, according to Diomande, has been quietly transformative.
“He’s really helped me, he’s really pushed me. Like I always say, he was a great midfielder and I want to be better,” said Diomande. “The manager is really pushing me with the small things—how to dominate the spaces I get in midfield.
“It’s really tight there and he just wants me to be in the right position every time, with or without the ball. These small things are adding up and I’m getting better every day.”
Athletic have the added incentive of a home final to fight for, with this year’s Europa League decider taking place in Bilbao. But Rangers, often underdogs in Europe, thrive under pressure—and Diomande believes that narrative suits them just fine.
“I don’t know what pressure they have there and what they expect. Maybe their fans expect them to win,” he said. “But we are also going there to win. There’s going to be pressure on both sides.
“I’ve seen them play before and I've watched La Liga a lot also. I think they have some great individual players and [but] my teammates were able to deal with that [last week], the individual players and the individual quality they had."
