Rangers have arrived in Turkey to take on Fenerbahce with Barry Ferguson having to face a managerial legend in his third game in charge.
Jose Mourinho praised the interim boss’ passion for the club he loves with a not-so-subtle parting dig at Philippe Clement after his comments about The Special One.
With Mourinho already suggesting Rangers have an advantage, Ferguson has been speaking to the media ahead of the Europa League clash with an update on two injured stars.
- READ MORE: What Jose Mourinho has said about becoming Rangers manager as US investors discuss old adversary
Barry Ferguson addresses media as Rangers prepare for Fenerbahce
Rangers will need to be as close to full strength as possible to take on the Turkish giants and will be grateful to have both Ianis Hagi and Danilo in the Europa League squad and available for selection.
Europe’s second tier tournament has provided some respite from a dismal domestic campaign with Ferguson sweating on the fitness of John Souttar and Leon Balogun:
“John Souttar and Leon Balogun both trained again today, I need to wait to see how they react to training today. Hopefully available tomorrow night.”
Both have been back in training for over a week now with Balogun featuring against Motherwell at Ibrox in the last fixture.
The veteran defender was the only player to walk off the pitch with his reputation in tact as he set the example for his Rangers teammates to follow.
Who should start for Rangers in defence?
With the Europa League being the only competition that Rangers are still in, there is no point resting anyone for domestic football.
Robin Propper, in a reflection of the club as a whole, has saved his best for Europe too, however, his recent form has been criticised.
The same applies for Clinton Nsiala.
A couple of games ago, it looked like he was a stick on to start on the left of Rangers defence for the foreseeable future, but the inconsistency of youth has caught up with him and he needs some time out of the limelight.
If Balogun and Souttar are fit enough to travel to Turkey, they should be starting.
Individually, they are the best centre-halves in the squad and, collectively, they are the best pairing too in terms of the level they have played at before and their experience.
Without them, it could be a long 90 minutes.
