As Rangers prepare to face Premier League Tottenham Hotspur in the Europa League, the build up has been dominated by Spurs manager Ange Postecoglou.
Not only is the Australian coach under intense pressure to turn things around at trigger-happy Spurs, but the ex-Celtic manager is returning to Glasgow 18 months on from leaving Parkhead for North London.
Given it’s Rangers that Ange Postecoglou will come up against in Scotland, the media have had a particular interest in stoking an Old Firm rivalry which has dominated the pre-match headlines.
But whilst the newspapers bait the Rangers support and the cantankerous old Spurs boss groans his way through the pre-match pre-amble, Philippe Clement will be delighted to have all the focus on the Tottenham manager and not his young Rangers squad.
It comes with the Ibrox side potentially set to land what could prove a substantial if not fatal blow in the uncertain Tottenham tenure of their under fire coach.
‘Spurs will need to overcome the odds to beat Rangers’
Ange Postecoglou reckons his Tottenham Hotspur side will have to ‘overcome the odds’ to defeat Rangers in the Europa League.
It comes with Spurs having a number of high-profile injury problems heading into the match at Ibrox, with Dutch defender Micky van de Ven the latest to be ruled out.
Remarkably, the Australian managed to make the comments with a straight face despite the fact Spurs’ starting XI will likely have cost £300m more than Rangers’ team.
MORE RANGERS STORIES
“We’re in a bit of a tough spot,” Postecoglou told SpursTV pre-match.
“It’s a great opportunity for us to sort of overcome the odds and hopefully create something special.”
We’ve got a feeling the big man is playing mind games with such extraordinary claims, which have no basis in reality whatsoever.
It didn’t end there either.
Ange Postecoglou baits Rangers title win
In the pre-match press conference, Postecoglou then baited Rangers’ 55th title triumph, the Australian suggesting it was ‘meaningless’ due to a lack of fans.
Whilst we can safely say Postecoglou is talking nonsense – Rangers did win 55 and stop 10IAR, no matter how much it hurts Celtic fans – the reality is the Ibrox side blew it big time after the Australian’s arrival in Glasgow.
From a Rangers point of view, fans reflect on Postecoglou’s time as Celtic more as a dramatic failure on the Ibrox side’s part.
The suggestion that Gers fans have bad blood with the Australian makes a good headline, but it is massively overstated.
It’s that systemic failure in the wake of the club’s 55th title which has hung over Rangers in recent seasons and forced a complete reshuffle in the club’s leadership.
In the pantheon of great Celtic rivals, Postecoglou is small fry, which makes the grumpy Australian’s comments even more bizarre.
“I don’t know if it brings out more of me, I’m like anyone else,” said Postecoglou when asked about this overhyped reaction from Rangers fans.
“I like a bit of love every now and then — but I do enjoy that!
“What I always kind of reflect on, and we’ve all lived it, is that once you experience football in empty stadiums, you realise how meaningless it is.
“I fell through that whole period. It was meaningless. As much as you go, you could be hostile tomorrow, but that’s what we love about the game.
“That’s what brings it to life, ultimately. It’s a game that evokes passions and emotions. Sometimes that’s not always positive.
“Like every human being, you’d love it to be positive, but it’s not going to happen.
”But you definitely want that, as opposed to just playing a game somewhere sterile where you don’t have that.”
Rangers won’t give Ange Postecoglou a second thought
Maybe the Australian would have a point, well, only if it weren’t the case that the Tottenham team is one of the most expensively assembled in world football.
This is not a level playing field and a failure for Tottenham to beat Rangers only shines negatively on Postecoglou.
In 10 simulations, with Spurs’ finances they should overcome the Gers nine times.
Whilst Spurs boast one of the biggest budgets in football, Rangers’ young team has been rebuilt in the summer window on a shoestring.
And yet, Rangers fans are approaching the game at Ibrox stadium with a quiet confidence as the club’s Europa League campaign reaches a crucial juncture.
With all the focus on Big Ange in the build up, Philippe Clement echoed that sentiment and urged his young charges to seize the day to ensure a memorable night that will last a lifetime.
Carpe diem indeed.
The Rangers manager is not buying into talk of a Spurs in crisis and has been clear throughout that the Premier League giants operate in a financial domain we can only dream of.
But whilst Ange Postecoglou covers his own back and tries to stoke the flames of an old rivalry, Clement is focusing on the football and insists his team can overcome the odds.
Let’s be clear here.
Should Rangers do so, then the first thought will not be about the Ange Postecoglou circus that has rolled into town or a misguided sense of redemption. Although in the build-up you wouldn’t believe it.
It’ll be praise alone for a young Rangers side who will have taken another step closer to where they need to be, winning a deeper place in the hearts of supporters in the process.
Taking a Premier League scalp and providing a memorable Europa League night is much more important to Rangers fans than getting one over Ange Postecoglou will ever be.