Rival managers hail ‘formidable’ Rangers after reaching Europa League final

Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou believes Rangers’ European success is further proof of how formidable an opponent the Ibrox side have been.

Postecoglou praised Gers for reaching the Europa League final with victory over RB Leipzig.

“They have done awfully well and they have deserved it,” said the Celtic manager, whose team could win the Scottish title this weekend.

“Over two legs, they were the better team and deserve to be in the final, and have been really strong in Europe all year.

“It’s been a tough week for them with the passing of Jimmy Bell. Whenever you work inside a football club and lose someone who has been such an integral part of the fabric, it must have been a tough week, particularly for the players and staff who dealt with him.

“They deserved to get through to the final and I think it says they are a very good football team, which I think they proved last year by going through the season undefeated, which is no mean feat, and this year with their strong performances in pretty much all the competitions.

“For us, I knew it was probably going to be our biggest challenge this year, apart from our own form and how we performed.

“If we were going to be successful we had to overcome a pretty formidable opponent.”

Celtic will go straight into the Champions League group stages if they clinch the title and Rangers will join them if they were to then beat Eintracht Frankfurt in the Europa League final in Seville on May 18.

Postecoglou agreed that having two Scottish representatives in Europe’s elite competition would be a boost for the country.

“It would, definitely, and both clubs would have earned it,” he said.

Former Celtic striker Mark McGhee claimed he had a tear in his eye when Rangers got through.

The Dundee