Thorsten Fink has revealed the message he gave Genk match winner Oh Hyeon-gyu during his half-time pep talk at Ibrox in the wake of his side’s Europa League league phase victory over Rangers last night.
And the German revealed that he had loved his return to the world-famous Govan ground he visited with Bayern Munich during his playing career – and will remember the club anthem Simply the Best being played until he dies.
The Belgian visitors squandered a raft of gilt-edged scoring chances in the first half of their league phase encounter in Glasgow – with former Celtic striker Oh the main offender.
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Fink urged the South Korean internationalist, who saw a €28m move to Bundesliga giants Stuttgart collapse on the final day of the summer transfer window earlier this month, to show more composure in the final third.
The forward broke the deadlock in the second half with what proved to be the only goal of the game.
“At half-time I spoke to him,” said his manager. “I said, ‘When you shoot, stay calm. I know with your quality that you will score’. The best sportsmen in the world, like tennis players for instance, only think about the bad ball they played in their last point for five seconds. Then they focus on their next point.
“So I told him to focus on the next situation. He did it and he was very happy that he scored, especially for him because it was in Scotland. It was a special situation for him.”
Meanwhile, Fink confessed that he had fulfilled a lifelong dream by managing a team at Ibrox and admitted that playing in Scotland in the Champions League when he was at Bayern had left a lasting impression on him.
“I was happy to see the crowd today and the fans in the stadium,” he said. “I was here in 1999. I didn’t play, but I was on the bench. Rangers drew 1-1 with Bayern Munich. They played a very good game against us.
“I have been a coach for a long time, but it was my first time coming here as a coach so it is a nice victory for me. There is always a good atmosphere here.”
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The 37,898 crowd was the smallest attendance Rangers have had in a European game at Ibrox since returning to continental competition in 2017 – but Fink was impressed with the backing which the home supporters gave their team throughout the 90 minutes.
“They supported their team from what I saw,” he said. “When I was here with Bayern Munich there were more fans, 52,000 I think. I was impressed with the Simply The Best song. I will never forget it in my life. The memory will stay with me to my funeral.
“They are special, special fans and the atmosphere in 1999 I will never forget. Today the fans were good as well. Rangers are a good team and they must believe in this. I was only happy to be here.”
