Marco Reus has lashed out at his own Borussia Dortmund team-mates ahead of their Europa League showdown after a humiliating German Cup defeat.
Rangers face the Bundesliga giants in the play-off round in less than a month's time. But holders Dortmund were bundled out of the DFB-Pokal by second tier St Pauli in a stunning 2-1 defeat.
That followed on from their Champions League exit in the group stage and German international and captain Reus is unhappy at the amount of goals they concede ahead of their tussle with Rangers.
He said: "We stand here every week and say we concede too many goals. We give goals away far too easily.
"This was a very bad day for the club.
"People will write us off now, but we are still in the title hunt and in the Europa League too.
"But we have to accept we have missed a huge chance to win this trophy again."
And manager Marco Rose echoed his skipper's words.
He pointed out: "We are merely confirming the things that we have been accused of in the last few weeks, months and even years.
"The disappointment is huge that we can't defend our title. The way we accepted the defeat wasn't like a cup game. It's a bitter defeat."
