Rangers star braced for sizzling European atmosphere as battle-hardened Ibrox man ready for fiery reception

Rangers winger Vaclav Cerny believes their Premier Sports Cup semi-final comeback win over Motherwell will stand them in good stead heading into Thursday’s Europa League encounter against Greek giants Olympiacos.

Philippe Clement’s men came in for fierce criticism from supporters in the wake of the 2-1 Premiership defeat to Aberdeen at Pittodrie in midweek, which left the Ibrox club nine points behind co-leaders Celtic and the Dons.

And they required a marked second half improvement to cancel out former Light blues midfielder Andy Halliday’s opener on Sunday after being booed off at half-time, with goals from striker Cyriel Dessers and attacking midfielder Nedim Bajrami completing the turnaround.

The Gers now shift their focus on European action in Athens this week and Cerny - who set up Bajrami for the match-winner - admits he is relishing the fiery Olympiacos atmosphere. Outlining the benefits of Sunday’s victory, the Czech republic international said: “Very important for confidence, for sticking together to make a good run of good games again.

“We’re going to prepare for the game in the upcoming days and it’s always been a nice stadium and a nice football environment. So I’m looking forward to that, another country to play in, another big club to play against and we’re going to do everything we can to get a very good result.

“I have played in places like that already, and I kind of enjoyed it and even though it’s not full of your supporters, it can be a nice experience.”

Cerny played an influential role in helping his team mates overcome a half-time deficit to beat Motherwell 2-1 and he insists they are determined to retain the silverware when next month’s final against Old Firm rivals Celtic comes along. Brendan Rodgers’ side thrashed Aberdeen 6-0 in the other semi-final tie at the weekend to outline a serious show of strength.

“For us as players, I think every chance you have to win a trophy is huge,” Cerny admitted. “It’s so tough to focus on that right now because there are so many games. But the dream is there to win it again, definitely and we’re going to go for it.”

On Rangers improved second-half performance that downed the Steelmen, Cerny added: “We felt we had the game in our hands, it was just about putting those details into work on the pitch. I think we showed a lot of good things second half and it’s also good that we can build on this. It’s a big goal of ours to be consistent.”