Both teams from Group C will have seen the last of their participation in their UEFA Champions League campaign after this fixture is played out. Neither team have secured progression to the next knockout round of sixteen in the competition. That honour has
been earned by Manchester United who have occupied the top position in Group C’s table and runners up Valencia, trailing the leaders by three points.
In tonight’s fixture at Old Trafford, both teams will be playing for the top spot. Rangers have secured five points from five matches and the third placed Scottish team have earned a consolation spot in next year’s Europa League season. Bursaspor have not
managed to win one game in their Champions League campaign.
The Bursaspor manager, Ertugral Saglam is looking to end his team’s Champions League participation and a win against the away team would suffice as a consolation. Saglam lamented, "We unfortunately could not beat Rangers in the away game and now the group
is pretty clear, everyone knows our position but we want to finish with a win.”
The Bursaspor boss explained that he did not expect his team’s progression into the next round, due to heavy weights such as Manchester United and Valencia being present in the Group. He did envision a battle between Rangers for the Europa League qualification
and remained positive in spite of the odds his squad faces tonight. "If we qualify for next year, we could do much better."
The manager was unapologetic about his team’s poor performance in the European elite competition and cited a “logical explanation for team’s situation”. The manager talked about his team’s debut in the Champions League for the first time.
He went on to highlight the stark monetary difference between the teams residing at the top of the table, saying “if you compare the budgets of the teams like Manchester United and Valencia to ours, there is huge difference.” Saglam recognised the difference
between signing good players and grooming them to work as a team and produce favourable results by stating “You can't qualify by just buying a couple of good players.”
Rangers’ fans may be wary of travelling to the Ataturk Stadium for the match, as it was reported that there was much disturbance on Sunday night at another Turkish team’s home ground. Bursaspor’s match against Besiktas in Istanbul on 5
December saw an outbreak of violence at the Inonu Stadium which resulted in three football fans being hospitalised for knife injuries.
It was reported that thirteen times title holders of the Turkish league, Besiktas won against Bursaspor and the outbreak of violence began when the home fans resorted to hurling rocks and bottles at the away supporters’ side. The police made an appearance
and attempted to diffuse the situation, by resorting to tear gas and extreme measures of baton usage when the violence outside the stadium reached its peak. The two sides’ fans have often clashed in disturbing encounters such as the incident on Sunday.
The Bursaspor boss is adamant that his side will show utmost respect to their Scottish guests for the Champions League match. The manager emphasised on his club demonstrating “There is no doubt that when Bursa hosts any teams, especially in the Champions
League, it is with Turkish hospitality” to the visiting team and elaborated by saying “Even when we hosted famous and important clubs before Glasgow Rangers, we had no security problems and even when we lost the games, there wasn't even a tiny problem.”
The Glasgow Rangers’ manager, Walter Smith has insisted that his team will in turn treat the Turkish hosts with respect and consider the game against Saglam’s side as a serious encounter to be won, stating that “This game is as important as our previous
Champions League matches. We'll do our best to win it”. The Gers boss was encouraging of his team’s performance despite not making it to the last sixteen.
Bursaspor will not be fielding Ibrahim Ozturk, Ali Tandogan and Damian Steinert due to their injuries. Rangers’s injury list consists of the following names: Maurice Edu, Sasa Papac, Andrew Little, Kyle Lafferty, Kirk Broadfoot and Andy Webster.
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