Motherwell can't make the same mistake with Rangers as we did, says ex-St Johnstone star

St Johnstone thought they were onto something in 2018 when Rangers drew 2-2 with Villarreal in Spain three days before hosting them at Ibrox – only to be demolished 5-1.

Liam Gordon has warned his Motherwell team-mates not to get similarly caught up in thinking that Rangers’ 1-1 draw with Dynamo Kyiv in Poland on Tuesday means the Glasgow giants won’t be fully-focused on their Premiership clash at Hampden on Saturday.

Defender Gordon, 28, fully expects a torrid time at the National Stadium this weekend, but hopes they can cope with what Philippe Clement’s side throws at them.

Gordon said: “I’ve been in this position before where I’ve had Rangers after they’ve had a really hard European game away to Villarreal, I think it was 2-2 or something.

“We were thinking ‘brilliant’ we’ve got them after a hard game on the Wednesday, but they’ve turned up and beat us 5-1 at Ibrox, so you can look at it on one of two ways.

“They obviously had a really good result the other night, so confidence is going to be high. We know what to expect, and it’s going to be a very difficult game for us.

“You can paint it however you want it, but I think we’re going to get a really good Rangers side, so we need to be prepared for it.

“As a group, we know Rangers are going to have a lot of the ball, so we need to be very well organised, and structured off it, but at the same time having the bravery and composure on the ball, which I know a lot of the guys are really good at, here.

“We need to create opportunities, because we know we can do that, but it’s about being well organised, structured, having that composure, and looking to play when we do win the ball back.”

Having won both the League Cup and Scottish Cup with St Johnstone, Gordon has fond