Source: Team_Talk
Mendes shrugs off seedings boost
The Ibrox club were elevated after Fiorentina completed a play-off round victory over Sporting Lisbon on Wednesday night, meaning they will now avoid Real Madrid, Inter Milan, Juventus, Porto, Lyon, CSKA Moscow and AZ Alkmaar.[LNB]But with Fiorentina and Atletico Madrid among possible pot-three opponents, Mendes is not getting carried away.[LNB]"The chances will be more or less the same," the midfielder said.[LNB]"We are avoiding a bunch of good teams that we could have been playing against.[LNB]"But we have difficult games ahead regardless.[LNB]"Everyone is excited, whether we are in pot two or pot three."[LNB]Rangers' elevation has robbed Mendes of the chance for a reunion with Porto, with whom he won the Champions League in 2004.[LNB]"The only team I would've liked to have played is Porto but we can't play them," he said.[LNB]Mendes was ambivalent about the prospect of drawing an English side, with Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea all possible opponents.[LNB]"English teams will be difficult but then you've got teams in Italy and Spain so there are no easy choices," Mendes said.[LNB]"The main thing for us will be the home games. At the end of the day, it's about us, it's about what we can do, how we perform.[LNB]"If we do well in the home games, we would be halfway towards qualifying for the next stage."[LNB]He added: "There are a mix of things that can take us to a happy ending."[LNB][LNB]
