Rangers maintained their impressive start to the season at the weekend with a 4-0 demolition of Aberdeen and Steven Gerrard will be looking to go one further and seal qualification to the knockout stages of the Europa League.
The Light Blues currently sit joint top of the group with Benfica, who come to Ibrox on Thursday, and a win all but guarantees safe passage to the round of 32 for the second season in a row with the gaffer keen to get the job done as soon as possible, as reported by The Scottish Sun.
Being able to take key players off against the Dons at the weekend will have helped his preparation and he has revealed that he will send his side out with strict instructions to go for the jugular:
“We are going to go foot to the floor on Thursday and give it everything we can to try and get the job done because maybe it can help us further down the line domestically.
“We want Thursday to be pivotal. We want it to be a big night. It’s a shame we haven’t got the crowd there to help us like they have before.
“So we have to motivate ourselves and try to get qualification done as quickly as possible.
“With three games to go we’ve given ourselves a fantastic platform but we are playing a really good team with top players.”
With such a packed fixture list, and no winter break, it would be nirvana for Rangers to achieve progression with two fixtures still to be played, allowing Gerrard to turn priorities back to domestic football.
Although the money gained from the Europa League is hugely beneficial, the lack of crowds will see a significant drop in revenue compared to normal, but it is a sign of the times and the progress that we have made that getting to the knockout rounds is seen as par rather than an exceptional achievement, beating Benfica on Thursday could be the latest in a long line of European records being made by a rookie boss once said to be “quietly terrified” of the task in hand.