Benfica wary of 'straight and direct' Rangers as Roger Schmidt shuts down rumour he could be sacked

Benfica manager Roger Schmidt is wary of a "straight and direct" Rangers team - and is putting noise over his future to one side to focus on shooting them down.

Schmidt has come under increasing scrutiny in Portugal after his side lost back-to-back games against rivals Sporting and Porto - the latter a 5-0 demolition that blew the title race wide open. Reports suggest his job is at risk if he doesn't get an immediate response against Gers, who come to town for the first leg of the Europa League last 16 clash on Thursday.

The Benfica boss fielded questions about his future but was more focused on what he's getting himself into against Philippe Clement who has turned Rangers' fortunes around since taking the job in December. When asked about the chance to bounce back on Thursday night, he said: "We are very happy to play again because we are disappointed with the (Porto) result. Your next match is always a good opportunity to show a different performance. This is our task.

"It's a different competition, we know you always have tough opponents at the round of 16 and Rangers is a very good team. They are first in the Scottish league and play very straight, direct football with a lot of transitions, deep runs and crosses.

"We have to accept this style of playing. They are playing very good in possession and intensive against the ball. We have to show a very complete tactical performance but also we have to show that we are playing at home, play with intensity and confidence. We need to use the home advantage. It will be a very tough match but we have to show a good reaction after Sunday."

Schmidt was asked about reports president Rui Costa is considering sacking him if he doesn't get a rapid response to the Porto hammering.