Steven Gerrard admits Rangers pressure but insists defeat in Prague would not be terminal

With the changes implemented by UEFA this season, progressing beyond the group stage of the Europa League has become considerably easier.

Rangers manager Steven Gerrard (centre) arrives at Glasgow Airport ahead of his team's flight to Prague on Wednesday afternoon. (Photo by Craig Williamson / SNS Group)

But even with the new safety net which sees the third-placed team in each group drop into the knockout phase of the Europa Conference League, Rangers will be anxious to avoid falling any further off the early pace when they take on Sparta Prague on Thursday night.

After the 2-0 defeat at home to top seeds Lyon on matchday one in Group A a fortnight ago, manager Steven Gerrard doesn’t underestimate the importance of trying to take at least a point in the Letna Stadium.

While Gerrard doesn’t believe Rangers’ hopes of a top two finish - and their primary objective of a place in the Europa League knockout phase - would be fatally undermined by defeat against Sparta, he recognises the significance of the fixture.

“I wouldn’t say it is a must not lose,” he said. “It is not the end of the world (if we lose). But it certainly adds an awful lot of pressure if we don’t take something from it.

“We are well aware that we haven’t got off to the best of starts, for sure. Losing your first game always adds a bit of pressure and tension to your second game and we will certainly take the responsibility for that.

“The plan is to go and try and win the game and we need a top performance to try and get maximum points. If we can’t find that performance or that result, it is important that we take something away from the game because, if not, the group becomes more complicated, there are obviously less points available and it adds even more pressure.

“I saw it when the group was announced as us having three rivals. You are fighting and competing for as many points as you can get.

“The teams all come out different pots so the bookmakers normally put odds on that situation. So we are well aware that Lyon are the top team as they proved at Ibrox where they were really good.

“But I thought we performed really, really well on the day. It was just the big moments that went against us. We are going to fight really hard for all the points in the remaining games.”

Sparta opened their campaign with a goalless draw against fourth seeds Brondby in Denmark and Gerrard is wary of the capabilities of opponents who thumped Celtic 4-1 both home and away in the group stage of the competition last season.

“Sparta played really well in Copenhagen,” he added. “They maybe deserved more than a draw. They were probably the stronger team out of the two. They’re a very strong team, a very physical team who run a lot.

“In the forward areas, they have a lot of technical players that can really hurt you, especially in the wide areas and in one v one situations. I never like to mention individuals because I don’t know what the opposition coach is going to play.

“But we saw from Sparta last year, and we’ve seen enough this year, to know that we’re in for a real tough challenge.”

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