McCoist satisfied with CL draw

15 July 2011 18:34
Rangers boss Ally McCoist was satisfied with the draw for the Champions League after securing a trip to Scandinavia rather than eastern Europe.[LNB] Rangers are likely to face Swedish side Malmo, who hold a 2-0 advantage against Faroe Islands champions Torshavn, in the third qualifying round.[LNB]Although the 19-times Swedish champions have an excellent European pedigree, most notably their run to the 1979 European Cup final, which ended in defeat to a Trevor Francis goal against Nottingham Forest, McCoist was relieved.[LNB]Rangers could have faced trips to the likes of Georgia and Moldova and McCoist was happy with more familiar territory, where the club won 3-1 in a friendly in 2001.[LNB]Rangers will begin with a home match on July 26/27, with the away leg taking place the following week. Rangers will receive no tickets for the away tie as their fans serve the one-match ban imposed by UEFA for discriminatory chanting.[LNB]Malmo have the advantage of being in the middle of their domestic season, although their hopes of retaining their title look slim, with Rikard Norling's side currently sitting eighth in the table, 10 points behind leaders Helsingborg.[LNB]McCoist told www.rangers.co.uk: "I think it is a more than acceptable draw for us. In terms of travelling and organisation, it is far better than some of the other possibilities, like Georgia for example.[LNB]"I fully expect Malmo to get through. They have a two-goal lead from the first leg and I think it would be a major shock if they were knocked out.[LNB]"Of course they are in the middle of their season so that gives them a bit of an advantage. At the same time our lads know the importance of the tie and I feel that will be a huge factor.[LNB]"We might be a little rusty in terms of competitive games but I feel that if we play as we can we have the opportunity to qualify."[LNB]McCoist will not travel to the Faroe Islands on Tuesday because it clashes with Rangers' friendly against Blackpool at Bloomfield Road, so coach Ian Durrant will go instead.[LNB]The Gers boss said: "He is well versed in gaining vital information on opponents. I'm sure he will go with the mindset that Malmo are going through so he can look at them thoroughly and give us his report.[LNB]"We have good contacts in Sweden so we will be fully versed in what they have to offer.[LNB]"(Former Rangers midfielder) Jonas Thern of course is someone we know well but we have other contacts there too[LNB]"I know that the former Swedish international Daniel Anderson is back at the club as captain after many years in Italy so he is a very experienced man for them."[LNB]McCoist will be keen to add to his squad before the qualifiers following failure in the club's initial bid for Espanyol defender Raul Rodriguez.[LNB]Aston Villa are reported to have agreed to sell defender Carlos Cuellar back to Rangers but neither club have made any official comment on the matter.[LNB]Rangers have lost all three pre-season games without scoring a goal ahead of their trip to Belfast to face Linfield tomorrow with Juan Manuel Ortiz their only summer arrival.[LNB]One man especially keen to break their duck at Windsor Park is Northern Ireland record goalscorer David Healy, who missed the last two games against Bochum and Bayer Leverkusen, firstly through an ankle injury.[LNB]Healy said: "I've never hidden my affection for my teams, Rangers and Linfield. They are the equivalent to us in Northern Ireland and they have been very successful.[LNB]"They had a decent result against BATE Borisov (1-1) in midweek in the Champions League qualifiers so we know they will make life hard for us.[LNB]"Hopefully we can get our first win of the summer and it would be nice for me if I can find the net along the way too."[LNB]

Source: Team_Talk