Rangers show 'character in abundance' to defy Ibrox woes

Barry Ferguson celebrates with goalkeeper Jack Butland — Barry Ferguson was thankful for Jack Butland's shootout heroics [PA Media]

Rangers showed "character in abundance" to recover from a fourth straight home defeat as they kept Europa League dreams alive on a "special" Ibrox night, according to interim head coach Barry Ferguson.

Fenerbahce won the second leg of the last-16 tie 2-0 in Glasgow, levelling the scores on aggregate, but then failed to convert three of their five penalties in a shootout that followed as Rangers once again defied the odds in Europe.

This run to the quarter-finals comes in a season of domestic turmoil - dumped out of the Scottish Cup by Championship side Queen's Park, beaten in the League Cup final by Celtic and trailing their city rivals by 16 points in the Premiership.

Philippe Clement was dismissed as manager as a result and, despite the impressive performances under the Belgian in Europe, it was Ferguson who Rangers have trusted for the remainder of the campaign.

Led by the former club captain, the first leg was a swashbuckling triumph in Istanbul, a counter-attacking masterclass.

A double from Poland midfielder Sebastian Szymanski eroded all that good work in 90 minutes back in Glasgow, but Ferguson was pleased by how his players recovered with the spot-kicks.

"They showed character in abundance tonight and we have to do that going forward," Ferguson told TNT Sports. "Overall, I'm just delighted to be into the quarters.

"We've still got to work at a lot of things, but that tonight is what my teams are built on.

"I know they're good players, but it takes more than a good player at Rangers, that's something we're trying to drill into them. Tonight was a big test for them and I think they came through it. It's easy for your head to go down at 2-0, but they never gave in."

In the three home matches preceding Fenerbahce's visit, Rangers lost to St Mirren, Queen's Park - when captain James Tavernier missed a late penalty - and Motherwell.

It was a familiar story against Fenerbahce and Rangers have now lost four matches in a row at Ibrox for the first time in their history.

Despite another defeat at home, former Rangers striker Steven Thompson praised the way they recovered after normal time.

"I've got to give them massive credit because, at 2-0 down, heading into extra time, I feared for Rangers," Thompson said on Sportsound.

"But they managed to galvanise themselves and regain composure. They showed a lot of bravery, shown mostly by their captain Tavernier.

"Rangers' penalties were excellent and Jack Butland was phenomenal."

'We didn't practise penalties'

Butland penalty save — Butland saved two penalties in the shootout to set up a quarter-final against Athletic Bilbao [PA Media]

Goalkeeper Butland has come in for criticism this season, with several high-profile mistakes dotted throughout Rangers' difficult domestic campaign.

It has been a far cry from his debut season at the club, where his consistently excellent form led to him being linked with a return to the England squad, even if that never transpired.

He stood up when it counted against Fenerbahce, though, saving efforts from Dusan Tadic and Fred in the shootout before Mert Hakan Yandas missed the target completely.

"It's not tough," Butland said. "When you play in this place with everything that's on the line, it's your nature.

"We are something special. I wanted to put something up for the guys, I wanted to get it done. You can't top this feeling.

"The boys dug deep and this is the reward you get - it's what the fans deserve. We could have been more clinical, but, boy, we deserved this."

Former Rangers midfielder Andy Halliday says Butland has more than atoned for previous errors.

"Jack Butland is the hero," he said on Sportsound. "We talked about his lack of form this season, compared to last. All of that is firmly out the window."

And Tavernier revealed that there were no special preparations for the possibility of a shootout.

"We probably did it the hard way, but these are the special nights in European football, which you can't replace," Tavernier told TNT Sports.

"We didn't actually practise [penalties] this week. Maybe that helped."

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