Struggling Scottish giants Rangers face immense pressure to salvage their European campaign and restore pride against a confident Sporting Braga, with coach Danny Röhl demanding a drastic improvement from his squad.
Röhl directly challenged his team to “improve the performance of the last two European games and be up to the challenge” in their Europa League clash on Thursday. He made the comments during a Wednesday press conference.
Rangers currently sit last in the Europa League phase standings with zero points and only one goal scored across four matches. Their upcoming opponent, Sporting Braga, is in fifth place with nine points.
Belgian international midfielder Nicolas Raskin underlined the game’s critical nature, stating, “Our focus is to win all the games we play.” He called the match “a good opportunity to take a step forward in our evolution.”
The Glasgow-based club has endured four defeats in their European campaign: a 1-0 loss to Genk, 2-1 to Sturm Graz, 3-0 against Brann, and 2-0 to Roma.
Röhl acknowledged the challenge, noting, “Sp. Braga comes here confident and it will be a tough game.”
The 36-year-old German coach, who took over from Russell Martin in October, stressed the “importance of consistency in football,” a quality he said his team has lacked this season. He added that it is “our responsibility to push for the support of our fans and put up a fight.”
Domestically, Rangers are in fifth place in the Scottish championship, nine points behind league leaders Hearts.
The fifth-round league phase match is scheduled for 8:00 PM local time (19:00 GMT) on Thursday at Ibrox Stadium in Glasgow.