Steven Naismith makes bold Rangers vs Athletic Club prediction that fans do not agree with
Steven Naismith has argued why Rangers will suit having the first leg of their Europa League quarter-final against Athletic Club at Ibrox.
Naismith isn’t the most popular of ex-Rangers players given his refusal to stay at the club amidst the administration and liquidation troubles of 2012.
But he has earned a newfound respect across the rest of Scottish football after being sacked from his position as Hearts head coach earlier in the season.
Naismith has appeared regularly on Sportscene – the BBC’s Premiership TV highlights show – and The Warm-Up podcast delivered by the SPFL.
And his tactical analysis and understanding of the game has been handed plaudits. But Rangers fans may not be in full agreement with his latest analytical piece for the BBC.
Naismith thinks Ibrox first leg vs Athletic Club suits Rangers
Naismith has been previewing Rangers vs Athletic Club as the two sides get set to lock horns in the Europa League this Thursday night.
Rangers go into the first leg having lost five straight games at home, yet Naismith still believes playing at Ibrox first in this tie is better for the Light Blues.
Naismith explained to BBC Sport: “The easier thing to do in football is be a defensive team. That is what I think this Rangers team are more comfortable doing.
“They feel more at ease playing in a defensively organised team that can then counter-attack. They have shown that under Barry Ferguson away to Fenerbahce and Celtic playing in a 3-4-3 set-up.
“In those games, when Rangers have won the ball, they have been in positions to score goals because even when they are sitting deep in a defensive formation, they always have three attackers forward.
“That approach did not work so well in the home leg against Fenerbahce, or the first half of their league game at Dundee, when they were perhaps expected to take the game to the opposition.
“But for Thursday’s encounter with Athletic Bilbao, I feel the first leg being at home should suit Rangers.
“Most European games that are two-legged affairs, particular in the latter stages of competitions, the first leg is always more cagey. It will probably be accepted a bit more by the Ibrox crowd if Rangers are a bit more solid.
“Rangers would bite your hand off to go into that second leg in Bilbao at 0-0.”
Rangers run to 2022 Europa League final says differently
Of course, Barry Ferguson’s current no-hopers are levels below the squad Giovanni van Bronckhorst led to the Europa League final in 2022.
But Rangers proved that across the knockout rounds that season, Ibrox was the place to be for the second leg and not the first.
Naismith’s logic from a tactical point of view doesn’t make too much sense, because Rangers are likely to set up defensively in both legs anyway – so will it really matter either way when the Ibrox leg is in that regard?
Where the Ibrox factor would make a difference is if Rangers played Athletic Club in Spain tomorrow night and secured a decent result, even a 1-0 defeat.
It happened in 2021/22 against Braga in the quarter-finals and RB Leipzig in the semi-finals. Rangers lost the opening away leg before overturning the deficit at Ibrox.
Rangers fans – and probably Barry Ferguson too – would have preferred this route, but his players will have to reach the semi-finals the harder way.
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