STEVE Clarke has predicted Rangers can pile on the heartache for his old Chelsea colleague Jose Mourinho and reach the Europa League quarter-finals tomorrow night – if they reproduce their performance against Fenerbahce in Istanbul.
Clarke, who named Ibrox goalkeeper Liam Kelly and centre-half John Souttar in his 23-man squad for the Nations League play-off games against Greece yesterday, worked as Mourinho’s assistant at Stamford Bridge for three years in the 2000s.
He knows the Portuguese coach, who has overseen many remarkable European comebacks in his long and trophy-laden career in the dugout, will be eager for his side to bounce back from the 3-1 reverse in the second leg in Govan and progress to the last eight.
However, the former Kilmarnock manager was impressed with how Barry Ferguson’s charges acquitted themselves in Turkiye and thinks they will give their supporters another famous result to cheer if they scale the same heights once again in the rematch.
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“I am going back down the road as I have something on on Thursday so I won’t be there,” he said. “I will watch the game on the telly though.
“I wouldn’t think Jose will be giving up. But if you look at the performance of Rangers in the first leg, I thought they were outstanding. If they play like that again I am pretty sure they will go through.”
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“It’s nice to see Nathan back fit again, although he did pick up another little niggle which put him out for two or three weeks and probably set him back,” he said.
“Max is playing more regularly at his club and has played Champions League football. He has been in the squad before, so I know him a little bit.
“We’ve also got Tony Ralston as the first choice right-back. He has never let us down, although he doesn’t play every week for Celtic.
“I just felt it was maybe a bit of a risk to include two players in that position who are not playing week in, week out. So I went with Max.”
