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Glasgow Live
Glasgow Live
Sport
Alan Galindo

James Tavernier in Rangers vow as he declares 'this is the start of something special'

James Tavernier has vowed Rangers will bounce back after their Europa League final defeat to Frankfurt in Seville.

The Light Blues suffered heartbreak in Spain as the German side ran out 5-4 winners on penalties after a 1-1 draw following 120 minutes of action.

Rangers are back in action in 24 hours time as they face Hearts in the Scottish Cup Final.

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READ MORE: EXCLUSIVE: Ex-Rangers and Hearts star David Templeton aiming to make stunning RETURN to game

Tavernier believes lifting the famous old trophy can act as the catalyst to kick off something special for the current crop.

While the Ibrox skipper also hailed Aaron Ramsey's bravery to step up in the pressure situation on Wednesday night.

He said: "I couldn’t be more proud of him to step up. We’re all round him. We’re all round the young boys.

“We’ve got great experience in the dressing room and we’re all round each other.

“This is not the end of us. This is the start of something special with this team.

“We want to be building from this to make the fans proud and really push on from this moment.

“With the squad that we’ve got, we’re always going to continue to build on it and bring players in.

“The manager said he lost the World Cup final but it’s football. It’s very hard to take but it’s got to make you stronger and we’ll be back fighting again.

“It’s hard to take. I’m not going to lie. It’s very hard to take - 2008 was the last time we were in this final. We’re going to use this as fuel.

“We want to be in these games, playing against the best in Europe. We have to use this as fuel, especially for this weekend and we have a very important game.

“We’ll see our families and then we have to recover well. I know everyone in the changing room will give 110 per cent to pick up a trophy and finish off the season.

“We’ll use this as fuel, as motivation. It’s a cup final on Saturday. There is silverware to be had.

“It’s the last game of the season and I know every single one of the boys will be firing up when that whistle comes.”

Rangers missed out on automatic entry to the Champions League group stages with defeat in Seville.

They will now have to battle their way through two qualifiers if they want to join rivals Celtic in Europe's premier competition.

But Tavernier says Rangers will go face to face against any club.

He added: “We have gone toe to toe with some of the best clubs in Europe. We have no fear whoever we’re up against.

“We’ll continue to have that same mentality. Any team we come up against, we’ll go toe to toe with.”

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