Steven Gerrard admitted he is expecting his Rangers stars to dazzle on the European stage after revealing he could see a “twinkle in the eyes” of his players ahead of their clash with Royal Antwerp.
The Ibrox side brushed past Belgian counterparts Standard Liege in the group stages of the competition but the Gers’ boss warned his players they are in for a significant step up in quality of opposition when the two sides lock horns in their Europa League last 32 meeting at the Bosuilstadion on Thursday evening.
Gerrard is yet to see his side taste defeat in continental competition this campaign, with the only blots on an otherwise flawless copybook coming in back-to-back draws with Portuguese giants Benfica before the turn of the year.
Antwerp boss Franky Vercauteren is without seven players including controversial striker Didier Lamkel Ze for the showdown, but the Pro League outfit did claim a victory over Jose Mourinho’s Tottenham Hotspur in the group stages.
But while Gerrard is under no illusions of the difficult task facing his side, he warned his players the pressure was now on to meet the growing expectations of the Ibrox faithful - who are quietly confident the in-form Gers can cause a severe dent in the competition this season.
He told his pre-match press conference: “We know the level of technical quality goes up in this competition. We respect the challenge that is here and we take it one step at a time. We are playing against a powerful and technical team.
"The standard in training has been fantastic. The level and intensity has gone through the roof and we are going in very excited."
He added: "I think when the games come thick and fast these boys enjoy it and are used to this schedule. We are really excited about this group of games. There is no fear and we believe at our best we have enough to get the job done.
"I see a twinkle in the eyes at training and they have shown a real top-level.
"There can be no guarantees in football but expecting a top performance."
