Good Europe League Draw For Rangers

Last updated : 18 December 2010 By Ed_ScottishFitba

Rangers missed out on another 'Battle of Britain' after being paired with Sporting Lisbon in the Europa League, but assistant manager Ally McCoist has no complaints about the draw for the last 32. Rangers were in the same Champions League group as Manchester United this season and manager Walter Smith was relished the chance of meeting another English team, with Liverpool and Manchester City also in the pot. But, with the likes of Dynamo Kiev, Spartak Moscow and 2008 UEFA Cup final opponents Zenit St Petersburg also possible rivals, McCoist is happy to take on Sporting. He said: "You'd have to say, yes, it's a good draw. At the same time it's not an easy draw but I think the logistics are as important to us as anything. It's obviously a country that we know well and a team that we know reasonably well so you'd have to say we're delighted with the draw. I'm actually delighted with what we got. I know the manager said he fancied another 'Battle of Britain' tie and we've certainly had a few with Manchester United and years ago with Leeds United which were fantastic for everyone involved. From my own point of view a Western European team would have been perfect so we're pleased with that."

Rangers beat Sporting in the quarter-finals on their way to the UEFA Cup final in 2008 and McCoist believes they can draw confidence from their previous success. He said: "I think that will be a factor. We drew the game at Ibrox and probably produced arguably our best performance of the run to Manchester in that performance in Lisbon. So I think it will help that we have been over the course and distance before. We've proved that we can go over to Lisbon and get a victory."

However, with the likes of former Rangers midfielder Pedro Mendes in their ranks, manager Smith insists there is no chance of their opponents being taken lightly. He said: "We know we will face two really tough games because they are playing well at the moment and we had to play well to win there last time out. We played some good football against them across the two legs and we will really have to repeat those kinds of levels to have success in the Europa League. Of course Pedro Mendes is there so we know the quality of player that we will face."

Like the last time the two clubs met, Rangers play the first leg in front of their own fans at Ibrox and Smith is hoping to claim an early advantage in the tie. Smith said: "We've got good experience now in European competitions and we'll need to use that to handle the situations. You can use every element to your advantage and we can try to do that with having the first leg at home. There is plenty of time between now and the games so we will have them watched closely and will know what we are up against."

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