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Daily Record
Daily Record
Sport
Paul Thomson

Rangers legend with Europa League final gold-dust tickets backs team to lift trophy after strides made since Celtic defeat

Rangers legend Barry Ferguson has his paws on gold-dust tickets for tonight's Europa League final - and he's convinced he will see his team go one better than he managed in 2008 by getting their hands on the trophy.

The midfielder came agonisingly close to lifting what was then the UEFA Cup when Walter Smith's dogged Gers made it to the Manchester final in 2008, only to lose 2-0 to a Zenit St Petersburg side managed by his old Ibrox boss Dick Advocaat.

But tonight he heads to the final in Seville as a fan, along with his two sons Connor and Kyle, in full belief old team-mate Gio van Bronckhorst will guide the Rangers squad of 2022 to victory over Eintracht Frankfurt.

He told Lanarkshire Live Sport : "I've got everything sorted for the game. I'm going with my two boys and some friends so I can't wait.

"I don't want to sound overconfident, but I've got a real belief that this squad is capable of going one better than I did and the team I played with.

"And that's just for the fact that since that [1-2] defeat to Celtic, the team has gone up a level and I love the fact they can change systems within a game.

Barry Ferguson (SNS Group)

"Obviously they can start with the 4-3-3, then they can go into a 3-5-2 or a 5-3-2, whatever you want to call it."

On the road to Seville, Fergie has seen Rangers overcome stern tests from Borussia Dortmund, Red Star Belgrade, Braga and RB Leipzig in the knockout stages after successfully negotiating a group stage that involved Lyon, Sparta Prague and Brondy.

But he knows Frankfurt - who knocked out Barcelona, West Ham and Real Betis along the way - will pose a huge test.

He said: "Rangers are coming up against a good team. You don't get to the final if you are not a good team, so it's going to be tough against Frankfurt.

"But Rangers deserve to be there. They are there on merit.

"They put out the favourites, for me, in Borussia Dortmund and they've earned the right to be in the final.

"But now - just go and win that final.

"I know how it felt after it when I lost it and it wasn't a nice feeling.

"I want nothing more than for this group of players to go one better than I did.

"I'll be honest I never thought I'd see Rangers here again.

"But once they beat Dortmund I just had a feeling we would get to the final.

"I want to see my ex-team go and achieve things and I'll be there cheering them on to hopefully see them get it over the line."

Follow Lanarkshire Live Sport on Twitter via @LanLiveSport, like us on Facebook or find us on Instagram for the latest sports news, pictures and video.

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