Rangers assistant manager Gary McAllister has hinted that there are still places up for grabs ahead of the club’s Europa League last 16 tie with Leverkusen.
The former Liverpool and Leeds United midfielder was speaking after Rangers defeated Ross County 1-0 in the Scottish Premiership to end a run of two defeats in a row.
With a trio of first-teamers now injury doubts for the tie [Sunday Post], McAllister appeared to challenge the Rangers squad to prove they deserve a chance against the Germans at Ibrox.
“It’s a challenge we’re most definitely looking forward to,” said McAllister [Rangers].
“We’ve proven that we can stand toe-to-toe with some good teams and we should use that and use that as a confidence boost.
“But the games are fantastic, Ibrox will be jumping, the atmosphere will be fantastic and quite a bit of competition for places, it’s hotting up.”
The Ibrox assistant manager will see his side face-off against the form Bundesliga team who are coming off the back of a 4-0 win against Eintracht Frankfurt this weekend.
Rangers have proven they can raise their game in Europe before with the tie against Braga in the last round evidence of what this team can achieve when they’re on their game.
Leverkusen will also be going into the tie with a mini-injury crisis, with up to four first-team players potentially ruled out of the trip to Ibrox.
Rangers fans may also take some solace in a unique omen heading into the match.
Romanian wonderkid Ianis Hagi was the hero against Braga and was also born on the day Rangers beat Leverkusen 2-1 in Germany in the UEFA Cup of 1998.
