JAMES TAVERNIER wants a cauldron of noise at Ibrox as Rangers seek to finish off Fenerbahce.
Barry Ferguson’s Gers stars ran the gauntlet in Istanbul last week – returning to Glasgow with a precious 3-1 first leg lead.
Tributes were left to him in Istanbul[/caption]
Tavernier after the game in Istanbul[/caption]
Devastated by the death of Christopher Potter – the fan who was tragically killed in a road traffic accident on the day of the game – Tavernier revealed he was firmly in the players’ thoughts.
And ahead of Thursday’s second leg – with a place in the last eight of the Europa League up for grabs – Tavernier said: “There was a lot of noise from the Fenerbahce fans in the first game and we’re going to need all our fans in the second leg at Ibrox.
“Then it comes down to our performance.
“We’ve got to get the fans behind us with a performance that they’re enjoying and they’re proud of.
“Obviously they would have been proud of the performance of last Thursday night and we really appreciate the travelling fans who came over.
“Obviously, we were all saddened by the news of what happened before the game.
“So our thoughts continue to be with his family.
“It’s down to us putting in a performance again on Thursday and getting the fans right behind us.
“We know how loud Ibrox can be and we’ve got to use that as an advantage.”
His 500th game for Rangers was one to forget.
His 501st was one Tavernier will always remember as he helped Barry Ferguson’s side stun Fenerbahce in Istanbul.
Three years on from leading the Light Blues to a Europa League Final and the Gers captain is daring to dream again.
Rangers planted one foot in this season’s quarter-finals with Athletic Bilbao or Roma lying in wait in the last eight.
Yet Tavernier is refusing to look beyond Thursday’s crucial second leg – fearing Jose Mourinho will pull out all the stops in a bid to overturn his side’s 3-1 deficit.
The Gers captain confessed: “It’s game by game.
“Obviously I’ve done it once and it goes without saying I’d love to try and do it again.
“But it’s game by game.
“We’ve got ourselves into a strong position from the first leg and we didn’t have a match at the weekend so we got the chance to really rest up.
“But listen, Jose is one of the best managers in the world so I’m sure that he’ll come out with different tactics in the second leg.
“We’ve just got to be ready for it and put in a good performance.”
Following the sacking of Philippe Clement – the sixth manager Tavernier has seen off – Ferguson was installed as interim manager.
And Tavernier is in no doubt the Fergie factor played a huge part in Gers’ remarkable win in Turkey last week.
Shifting to a back three, he deployed Connor Barron in midfield, alongside Mohamed Diomande.
That freed up just a little bit more space for Cyriel Dessers to enjoy.
The Nigerian produced his finest performance in a Gers jersey with every player praising the impact of Ferguson and his backroom staff.
Tavernier said: “He’s just simplified it and last Thursday in the first leg he wasn’t scared to change the formation.
“We had maybe 24 hours to work on it and he’s kept it really simple.
“The lads have really taken on the information and really taken on what it means to play for this club.
“I actually enjoyed the change of formation.
“I played most of my youth team days at centre back.
“It’s obviously a position that I can see myself playing in going forward because it might help me to prolong my career.
“But I feel fit as anything and I’m there to be an asset for the team, to do a job wherever it may be.
“But I feel really comfortable at centre back.”
Tav rolled back the years as Rangers produced a towering defensive display in the first leg against Fenerbahce.
Tavernier celebrating Fenerbahce win[/caption]
At the other end, Dessers and Vaclav Cerny were utterly ruthless to leave Mourinho with it all to do ahead of Thursday’s second leg.
Tavernier reflected: “Obviously we were really delighted how we performed in Istanbul.
“When you think about it though it’s also disappointing as well because domestically you want to see these performances and we’ve not managed that.
“It is what it is, we’ve got to learn our lessons from these games because as we have shown in Europe and again last Thursday night, we can play really well.
“Defensively, we limited their chances, even when they put the three big lads up front in the second half.
“We were really clinical when we went forward, you saw that.
“Coming out of that game and heading home we could have been five or six goals ahead.
“So we’re delighted with the performance and the result, but it’s only halfway.
“Everyone is aware of that.”
Everyone is also aware of the Jekyll and Hyde Rangers that have frustrated their fans all season long.
While bordering on shambolic at times in the Scottish Premiership, against the odds they continue to defy all logic in Europe.
Yet how can a team beaten by Queen’s Park, St Mirren and Motherwell deliver the kind of devastating display that left Fenerbahce boss Mourinho thankful his side only lost by two?
Tavernier said: “What’s the difference?
“It’s obviously a different style of play.
“It’s probably a bit more open and we’re the ones that are sitting in a little bit.
“Fenerbahce had tons of possession and a lot of the ball.
“But as we have been in Europe this season, we were really clinical in the first leg.
“That’s the difference I suppose.
“If we shut up shop at the back, going forward we can be really clinical, it makes a massive difference. “
Despite the empathic victory in Istanbul, Ferguson is refusing to allow his players to look beyond Thursday’s return leg.
The caretaker boss has made it clear that the tie isn’t over and Tavernier insists that’s the message that will be relayed all week.
He said: “No, it’s definitely not over.
“We’ll treat it as a nil-nil going into Ibrox.
“We can use our fans and treat it like a must win for us.
“We’ve got to try to be strong defensively as a team, to try and keep a clean sheet.”
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