Defiant Dominico Tedesco insists there’s no crisis at Leipzig despite seeing his side’s Champions League hopes falter after back-to-back Bundesliga defeats.
Tedesco watched his team slip out of the top four in Germany on Monday night as they followed up last week’s shock loss to Union Berlin by slumping 3-1 to 10-man Borussia Monchengladbach.
Leipzig looked out on their feet as they suffered a result which means domestic qualification for UEFA’s premier competition is no longer in their own hands with two games remaining.
But they still can book a ticket to Europe's top table so long as they rouse themselves to see off Rangers at Ibrox on Thursday and then go on to claim Europa League glory in the Seville final later this month.
And Tedesco is refusing to panic yet as he brushed off suggestions he had tried to avert a full-blown emergency by pulling his team together for a post-match huddle after Monday’s Borussia Park setback.
He said: "It doesn't matter whether it's a win, a draw or a loss - I pull my boys into a team circle after every game.
"That doesn't mean anything. I understand the media discussion. But we didn't lose concentration, bad games just happen.
"You don't need to talk us into a crisis now. Of course we were all very disappointed with the result against Gladbach.
"And we just want to win every game. But the topic is now closed. We're about to have a really great game, a semi-final in the Europa League!
"We have nothing to lose, only to win.”
The Germans arrived in Glasgow last night packing a 1-0 thanks to Angelino’s sensational late winner at the Red Bull Arena.
The former Manchester City defender’s 85th-minute strike hushed the 7000 Gers fans who had flown out for the first leg but Tedesco is well aware the noise levels are likely to be through the roof as the Ibrox faithful prepare to put on another epic Euro show.
Tedesco - who paid tribute to “club legend” Jimmy Bell at his pre-mach press conference - said: “We should enjoy being in such a stadium and to experience the atmosphere. But we also can’t forget that we are here to win.
“We're leading 1-0 - that's the starting position. Still, we need goals in Glasgow because we expect Rangers to push hard and make life difficult for us.”
Austrian midfield ace Konrad Laimer is also bracing himself for a red-hot atmosphere.
He said: "Tomorrow the stadium will be hot - but we will be hot too.
“We're more than on fire and full of anticipation for games like this, we became footballers for games like this.”
