Fenerbahce’s vice-president insists Jose Mourinho has a ‘plan’ ahead of Thursday’s Europa League last-16 return leg at Rangers.
Whether it proves to be as effective an idea as the one which saw Barry Ferguson out-maneuverer the two-time Champions League winner in Istanbul seven days earlier, only time will tell.
As Ferguson introduced a tailor-made 3-4-2-1 system in Istanbul – one which added an extra centre-back to combat Edin Dzeko and Youssef En-Nesyri while giving two-goal Vaclav Cerny the freedom to make darting runs through the centre – Mourinho’s far-more expensively-assembled outfit were swept aside pretty convincingly.
Ferguson confirmed that Rangers have a couple of fitness doubts ahead of Mourinho’s first-ever competitive visit to Ibrox.
The interim boss is also taking nothing for granted, wishing the the two goals Dessers saw ruled out by VAR had counted to give his side an extra layer of security.
As for Mourinho, he is expecting Ferguson to take a leaf out of his own gilded playbook.
- READ MORE: Rangers Europa League Record Since 2017
Jose Mourinho not giving up hope as Fenerbahce travel to Rangers
The man who put the phrase ‘park the pus’ into the mainstream and then perfected the art of Catenaccio at Chelsea and treble-winning Inter Milan anticipating an opponent looking to sit deep, soak up the pressure, and exploit any further mistakes Fenerbache may make.
“We had a week and everyone had their own conclusions,” Mourinho says during his Wednesday press conference. “At this level, mistakes can lead to matches or the loss of the round. But the door to the [quarter-finals] is still open.
“We are at a disadvantage. We lost the first match. I don’t want to think about anything that will damage our confidence. There are another 90 minutes.
“We should not repeat our mistakes tomorrow. Rangers will wait for us to make mistakes and look for a counter-attack. You should not make mistakes against such a team.”
Mourinho admitted Fenerbahce struggled to cope with Cyriel Dessers and Vaclav Cerny in Istanbul. The former opened the scoring – his 22nd goal of a prolific campaign – before combining wonderfully with the latter to produce one of the finest team goals in the competition.
The former Real Madrid boss is now hoping that, with the home support bellowing them on, Rangers will be tempted to go at Fener from the off in the belief that attack is the best form of defence.
Thus, opening up spaces on the counter.
Mourinho looking forward to his first ever competitive Ibrox visit
“Ibrox is an iconic stadium and the fans will not accept a defensive game,” Mourinho predicts, musing over his various tactical options. “We are ready. Rangers will wait for us to make mistakes again. I don’t know if we should be patient!
“Should we attack? We have worked on defensive blocks. Hopefully, we will take it to the end. We will come and do our best.
“The result of the first leg didn’t upset me! I don’t feel like ‘revenge’! I think we are better [than the opposition]. We made mistakes, Rangers took advantage of them. They fought together and they deserved it.
“I don’t have any bad feelings, disappointments or anything like that. We have an important match on Sunday. I’m thinking about Rangers right now. We have a chance.”
