McGregor issues rally cry

Keeper wants response against Dons on Saturday

Last updated: 25th November 2009   Subscribe to RSS Feed

McGregor issues rally cry

McGregor: European heartache

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Allan McGregor insists Rangers must now put their European nightmare behind them and concentrate on their domestic aspirations.

The Gers have suffered a miserable UEFA Champions League campaign this term, mathematically condemned to the bottom of Group G with just one game remaining.

Tuesday night's 2-0 defeat to Stuttgart was their third home defeat and they look set to finish the group without a win as they travel to Sevilla in their final encounter.

McGregor has called for his team-mates to forget about the experience and focus on retaining their SPL title, starting with a trip to Pittodrie to tackle Aberdeen.

"We need to forget about Europe now," he told Rangers World. "It's on the back-burner because we have to get ready for Aberdeen.

"We will certainly need to put on a better performance on Saturday and start with a better tempo and take the game to them."

The 27-year-old, who was arguably Rangers' best player midweek against the Germans, realises his side face a tough task against the Dons at a ground where they have not won since December 2006.

"They are hard to beat up there because they always seem to raise their game when either of the Old Firm comes to town," he said.

"I think they feel they have nothing to lose so they may as well have a go, so that makes it a difficult game.

"But we have got ourselves in front in the SPL and we want to stay there.

"It was a bit topsy-turvy last year but we want to stamp our authority on the league this year."

Top-drawer

McGregor made a host of top-drawer saves against Stuttgart, but he admits that does little to comfort him and his team-mates as their European adventure is cut short once again.

"I'm not really pleased that I made a few saves," McGregor said. "It's about the team. I'm just gutted at the moment to be honest.

"I don't think we started that great and I felt we gave them too much respect.

"I thought we were quite poor in the first 15 minutes in terms of keeping the ball and passing it.

"They seemed to score just as we were getting into the game. It happens all the time with us.

"We seem to wait for something to happen to spark us into gear but we can't do that in these matches."