Philippe Clement admits Rangers will have to hit new heights if they’re to make it to hell and back with three points tonight, writes Andy Newport from Greece.
The Ibrox side are in Greece to face Olympiacos for the latest step on their quest to reach the Europa League knock-out rounds. The Athens giants and their notorious Gate 7 ultras caused a social media stir last year when facing West Ham at the Karaiskakis Stadium as they unveiled a banner reading: “Tonight you dine in hell.”
Clement, though, is confident his side won’t choke under the pressure this evening. Gers and Olympiacos both side level on six points after three games and one more win will put them in touching distance of the 10-point mark expected to be enough to qualify. The Belgian boss - who has been hit with a fresh injury blow after being told Tom Lawrence is out for up to six weeks - replied after being asked how big a performance his side require: "Clearly more.
“Because Olympiacos won also against Malmo. And they won against Braga and I rate Braga also highly and they won with 3-0. No, we need a really big performance from all the squad, all those starting and coming in but I feel also that they are very hungry to do that and going to this final gave also another part to the group. It's now to confirm that in this game at a higher level against a better opponent, to raise our level again.”
But Clement is convinced the intimidating Greek amphitheatre won’t scare his side. He said: “I'm confident about that. OK, we have a few guys who are less experienced, but we also have enough experienced players in the squad. They're used to playing at Ibrox.
“That helps also. If you have a team who plays in a smaller stadium and come here, it's different. In
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