Rangers' Europa League foes Royal Antwerp appoint Kemar Roofe's former coach

Steven Gerrard will pit his wits against a three-time Belgian league winner when Rangers face Royal Antwerp in the last 32 of the UEFA Europa League next month.

Anderlecht's head coach Frank Vercauteren pictured during a friendly soccer game between Belgian team RSC Anderlecht and Scottish Livingston F.C., Saturday 11 January 2020 in San Pedro Del Pinatar, Spain, at their winter training camps. B(Photo by VIRGINIE LEFOUR/BELGA MAG/AFP via Getty Images)

The Belgian club saw previous coach Ivan Leko depart for Shanghai SIPG in the Chinese Superleague at the end of last year after leading ‘The Great Old' to the knock-out stages.

But after names including Mark van Bommel and former Red Devils international boss Marc Wilmots were linked with the post, Antwerp have appointed Franky Vercauteren as new head coach.

The Belgian previously worked alongside Vincent Kompany at Anderlecht after leading Cercle Brugge back to the top flight and has a vast experience having led Anderlecht previously, as well as Sporting Lisbon, Genk and the Belgian national team.

His time in Brussels also saw him work with Rangers striker Kemar Roofe.

Antwerp qualified as runners-up to Tottenham while Rangers, as group winners, were seeded for the tie on February 18, and return at Ibrox a week later.

A message from the Editor:Thank you for reading this article. We're more reliant on your support than ever as the shift in consumer habits brought about by Coronavirus impacts our advertisers.If you haven't already, please consider supporting our trusted, fact-checked journalism by taking out a digital subscription.