Steven Gerrard admits Rangers now face a 'must win' game against Brondby to rescue their Europa League campaign after defeat in Prague

Rangers manager Steven Gerrard admits a victory over Brondby at Ibrox in their next Europa League match is now non-negotiable if the Scottish champions are to retain any hope of reaching the knockout stage of the tournament.
Rangers midfielder Glen Kamara leaves the pitch after being sent off in the 74th minute of the Scottish champions' Europa League defeat against Sparta Prague at the Letna Stadium. (Photo by MICHAL CIZEK/AFP via Getty Images)Rangers midfielder Glen Kamara leaves the pitch after being sent off in the 74th minute of the Scottish champions' Europa League defeat against Sparta Prague at the Letna Stadium. (Photo by MICHAL CIZEK/AFP via Getty Images)
Rangers midfielder Glen Kamara leaves the pitch after being sent off in the 74th minute of the Scottish champions' Europa League defeat against Sparta Prague at the Letna Stadium. (Photo by MICHAL CIZEK/AFP via Getty Images)

Gerrard’s team remain pointless at the bottom of Group A after slipping to a 1-0 defeat against Sparta Prague in the Letna Stadium on Thursday night, following up their 2-0 loss at home to top seeds Lyon on matchday one a fortnight earlier.

As he reflected on a game which Rangers finished with 10 men after Glen Kamara’s 74th minute dismissal, Gerrard conceded they now have very little margin for error in the race for a top two finish in the group with the home meeting against Brondby next up on October 21.

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“I’m disappointed we’ve got off to the start we have in the group, losing two games is not ideal,” said Gerrard.

Glen Kamara clashes with Sparta Prague's Michal Sacek in the incident which saw the Rangers midfielder receive a second yellow card in his team's 1-0 defeat at the Letna Stadium. (Photo by Michal Cizek/AFP via Getty Images)Glen Kamara clashes with Sparta Prague's Michal Sacek in the incident which saw the Rangers midfielder receive a second yellow card in his team's 1-0 defeat at the Letna Stadium. (Photo by Michal Cizek/AFP via Getty Images)
Glen Kamara clashes with Sparta Prague's Michal Sacek in the incident which saw the Rangers midfielder receive a second yellow card in his team's 1-0 defeat at the Letna Stadium. (Photo by Michal Cizek/AFP via Getty Images)

“The next game is a must-win now. We have to win the game at home to Brondby to give ourselves an outside chance.”

The evening was marred by constant jeering of Kamara from an attendance restricted to local children aged 6 to 14 after Sparta were punished for racist conduct by their fans during a Champions League qualifier earlier this season.

Gerrard praised his team’s efforts to salvage something from the contest with 10 men but also highlighted deficiencies at both ends of the pitch in their display as David Hancko scored the only goal from a poorly defended corner kick.

“In terms of the performance, I thought Sparta just edged it in terms of chances,” he said. “But I was really pleased with the boys, especially when we went to 10 men. We threw caution to the wind and tried our best to rescue a point. It wasn’t to be.

“Unfortunately we’ve lost the (penalty) boxes tonight. They’ve had one good chance off a set play, they’ve taken it - which we’ll need to look at.

“We’ve had two very similar chances and unfortunately we haven’t taken them.

“For large parts of the game we passed the ball really well, we played with control. I still think we can be better around the box in terms of variety and trying to open a team out.

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“Our ‘keeper has been busier than theirs, we have to admit that. But when we went to 10 men and took more risks, played with more endeavour and desire, I thought we created more and still looked like we could rescue a point.

“We were certainly in the game right until the death, we had some good set piece opportunities but unfortunately just couldn’t get that important goal.

“In terms of the Europa League, we need a reaction now going into the Brondby. But right now we need to move on quickly and get ready for a top of the table game against Hibs on Sunday.”

Juninho Bacuna limped out of the action with a thigh injury before half-time and the midfielder is a doubt for the Ibrox clash against second-placed Hibs.

“We are hoping we’ve got to the injury before it’s got any worse,” said Gerrard. “We are hoping to have him available at the weekend but he’s certainly only got an outside chance right now.”

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