Celtic hero makes unexpected Rangers prediction - 'give credit they deserve'

Former Celtic striker John Hartson has backed Rangers to reach the Europa League final on Thursday but says the Giovanni van Bronckhorst's men must not fall into the trap of thinking the Ibrox crowd can make the telling difference in the semi-final second leg against RP Leipzig. (Photo by Craig Williamson / SNS Group)

The former Celtic striker doesn’t often offer up garlands for his old club’s bitter rivals. But he is unabashed about the kudos Rangers warrant for their continental exploits this season. Even as he sounds a word of caution over the potential for “complacency” in perceiving that the energising effect of a frenetic home support can be enough in itself to provide the impetus for Rangers overturning a single goal first leg deficit against their Bundesliga opponents. The Welshman maintains that it is largely irrelevant the Ibrox ambience was pivotal in the elminations of Borussia Dortmund, Red Star Belgrade and Braga across the knock-out stages.

“You have to give Rangers the credit they deserve,” he said of the Ibrox club’s breaking new ground for a Scottish club in the Europa League. “They’ve found a way tactically, home and away, to win games. Ibrox has been a fortress for them, and I think they’ll turn that around on Thursday night, I think they’re capable. As long as they don’t get complacent and think ‘we did it against Braga, we did it against Dortmund, we did it against Red Star’. Forget all that, this is different, this is the semi-final. You need to turn up on the night, have the same performance. They will have the crowd, there’s no doubt they’ll have the crowd.”

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