Union Saint Gilloise stalwart Christian Burgess hopes Rangers will cost themselves a £40m Champions League jackpot by cashing in on star duo Joe Aribo and Calvin Bassey.
Former Portsmouth defender Burgess is set to play a star role for the Juliper Pro League shock-troops in next month’s qualification double header against the Ibrox side after the teams were paired together in Monday’s third round draw. And he believes the Belgians best chance of making it through to the play-offs could lie in the summer sales which have ripped Aribo and Bassey out of Giovanni van Bronckhorst ’s Europa League starting XI.
The Dutchman has moved quickly to recruit a string of fresh signings in Antontio Colak, Tom Lawrence, Rabbi Matondo, Malik Tillman and Ben Davies - while also closing in on a £5m move for Besiktas left back Ridvan Yilmaz. But Burgess believes the upheaval of a summer rebuild might play into Union’s hands.
Speaking exclusively to Record Sport the experienced 30-year-old Englishman said: “Ideally, losing these guys might disrupt Rangers rhythm. I played against Aribo when he was at Charlton, just before he moved to Rangers, and he was a really good player even then.
“Obviously Bassey has gone too so there has been a bit of disruption where last season’s side is concerned. It’s similar to our own situation. When a team does so well it attracts a lot of attention and you end up having your best players cherry picked.
“We have just lost Casper Nielsen who was one of our best players last season so we are dealing with the same sort of issues. That was a big blow to us as we were hoping he would stay around a bit longer.
“But that’s football. Rangers might have lost some key guys but they should have enough depth in their squad to cope with that. But, from our point of view, hopefully that gets in the way of their flow and slows them up a little bit.
“I know what it’s like when you lose a key player and someone else has to step up into that position and fill their boots. It’s really tough for that person to assimilate themselves quickly. So that’s going to be a challenge for Rangers.”
Burgess admits his side will be the underdogs as Union go into a first ever Champions League qualification campaign - courtesy of storming to a runners up spot in Belgium’s top flight last season after 48 years languishing down the leagues. But he is confident the minnows can catch Rangers by surprise if Van Bronckhorst and his new look side don’t take them seriously.
He said: “Hopefully they take us lightly. Hopefully they see us as a team they’ve never heard of. We’re not as professional as Rangers and I think you can sense that around this tie.
“So hopefully they turn up and they underestimate us because on our day we’re a good footballing side, we work hard and we’re very honest. Everybody knows their jobs and we’re well organised.
“I don’t want to end up having to eat my own hat but we are a tough team to score against - that’s one of our strengths - we’re well organised and we play with a lot of pace on the counter attack. That’s how we hurt teams. But not a lot of our guys have any experience of European football so I guess it’s swings and roundabouts.
“We’ll have some advantages in being the underdogs and then some disadvantages with a lack of experience. But we’re just really looking forward to the challenge.”
