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want to help Gers join us in the last 16
DARREN FLETCHER helped give our national team a badly needed lift with a stunning display on the night we scared world champions Spain.
Now the Manchester United star is poised to provide the Scottish game with another boost - by virtually sealing a place for Rangers in Europe beyond Christmas.
United's 1-0 victory over Bursaspor at Old Trafford on Wednesday left the hapless Turks still without a point or even a goal in the Champions League after three ties.
And on matchday four on November 2 they host Sir Alex Ferguson's side - well aware they are already five points behind the Light Blues, who will be in Spain the same night.
Another defeat could prove too shattering a blow to recover from.
Right from the moment the draw for Group C was completed it looked a dogfight between Rangers and Bursaspor for third place and Europa League action in 2011.
But Walter Smith's shock troops could even now storm into the last 16 of club football's most illustrious competition, sitting proudly second top behind United, who are only two points ahead.
Their memorable 1-1 draw against Valencia at Ibrox also left United delighted.
And Fletcher, superb against Bursaspor, was content to pass on praise from Old Trafford to the SPL champions.
He said: "It's all about Manchester United for me and making sure we get the win in Turkey to try and ensure we finish top of the section. But anything that comes on top of that for Rangers would be good news for Scottish football.
"Rangers' results so far haven't come as any surprise to me.
We saw against them at Old Trafford that they can be set up to be really hard to beat.
"I've experienced the way Rangers can play because I went through it myself with Walter Smith when he was the Scotland manager. I know how he lines up his teams and they can be very hard to defeat.
"In the Champions League, you have to be able to go out and play like that at times.
"If you go out with all guns blazing, the opponents you face have so much quality they can hurt you.
"By all accounts, I'm sure Rangers will be a little bit disappointed they didn't win the game against Valencia.
"But I'm sure if you had offered them a point before the game they most probably would have accepted it and moved on.
"We lost against Spain as a Scotland side and that is the bottom line. But I think the performance and the way we responded to losing the two goals gave everyone a lift.
"In fact, it may well have given Rangers a lift going into their match against Valencia with the knowledge that Scottish sides can compete with Spanish sides.
"And that looks like a great result for them at Ibrox.
Obviously, though, Rangers face a difficult match when they go to Valencia.
"Having experienced the Mestalla myself, I know it is going to be a helluva match for the Rangers players."
Fletcher's on top form, one positive for United boss Ferguson, who is recovering from the shock of learning Wayne Rooney wants to quit.
And the midfielder, who'll visit Ibrox with United on November 24, said: "I feel okay. I enjoyed the Scotland match against Spain and the opportunity to test myself against the best players in the world. I didn't play against West Brom last weekend, so I was fresh going into the Bursaspor match, apart from a bit of a cold.
"It was just about getting out there and winning.
"It wasn't a fantastic performance, but we got the job done. That's all that counts.
"We will go to Bursaspor with the sole aim of winning and, hopefully, that will see us through the group. The sooner you do that the better. The longer you drag it out, the worse it can get because there are quality sides in the Champions League and you can't leave anything to chance."
United striker Federico Macheda gives Rangers respect for their against-the-odds results in the Champions League but is adamant they can forget edging them out to win the group.
The Italian said: "It was a good result for Rangers to draw against Valencia, but we could only worry about ourselves and make sure we won.
"The Rangers draw with Valencia was a good result for us because it meant that two teams dropped points.
"We want to go to Turkey to win to make sure that we are all right with two games to go.
"I don't know who else will go through, but I think we have the best team in the group if we play our football.
"It was important for us to win the match because we lost a 2-0 lead against West Brom and needed to get back to a winning situation."
thx darren i like him now
DARREN FLETCHER helped give our national team a badly needed lift with a stunning display on the night we scared world champions Spain.
Now the Manchester United star is poised to provide the Scottish game with another boost - by virtually sealing a place for Rangers in Europe beyond Christmas.
United's 1-0 victory over Bursaspor at Old Trafford on Wednesday left the hapless Turks still without a point or even a goal in the Champions League after three ties.
And on matchday four on November 2 they host Sir Alex Ferguson's side - well aware they are already five points behind the Light Blues, who will be in Spain the same night.
Another defeat could prove too shattering a blow to recover from.
Right from the moment the draw for Group C was completed it looked a dogfight between Rangers and Bursaspor for third place and Europa League action in 2011.
But Walter Smith's shock troops could even now storm into the last 16 of club football's most illustrious competition, sitting proudly second top behind United, who are only two points ahead.
Their memorable 1-1 draw against Valencia at Ibrox also left United delighted.
And Fletcher, superb against Bursaspor, was content to pass on praise from Old Trafford to the SPL champions.
He said: "It's all about Manchester United for me and making sure we get the win in Turkey to try and ensure we finish top of the section. But anything that comes on top of that for Rangers would be good news for Scottish football.
"Rangers' results so far haven't come as any surprise to me.
We saw against them at Old Trafford that they can be set up to be really hard to beat.
"I've experienced the way Rangers can play because I went through it myself with Walter Smith when he was the Scotland manager. I know how he lines up his teams and they can be very hard to defeat.
"In the Champions League, you have to be able to go out and play like that at times.
"If you go out with all guns blazing, the opponents you face have so much quality they can hurt you.
"By all accounts, I'm sure Rangers will be a little bit disappointed they didn't win the game against Valencia.
"But I'm sure if you had offered them a point before the game they most probably would have accepted it and moved on.
"We lost against Spain as a Scotland side and that is the bottom line. But I think the performance and the way we responded to losing the two goals gave everyone a lift.
"In fact, it may well have given Rangers a lift going into their match against Valencia with the knowledge that Scottish sides can compete with Spanish sides.
"And that looks like a great result for them at Ibrox.
Obviously, though, Rangers face a difficult match when they go to Valencia.
"Having experienced the Mestalla myself, I know it is going to be a helluva match for the Rangers players."
Fletcher's on top form, one positive for United boss Ferguson, who is recovering from the shock of learning Wayne Rooney wants to quit.
And the midfielder, who'll visit Ibrox with United on November 24, said: "I feel okay. I enjoyed the Scotland match against Spain and the opportunity to test myself against the best players in the world. I didn't play against West Brom last weekend, so I was fresh going into the Bursaspor match, apart from a bit of a cold.
"It was just about getting out there and winning.
"It wasn't a fantastic performance, but we got the job done. That's all that counts.
"We will go to Bursaspor with the sole aim of winning and, hopefully, that will see us through the group. The sooner you do that the better. The longer you drag it out, the worse it can get because there are quality sides in the Champions League and you can't leave anything to chance."
United striker Federico Macheda gives Rangers respect for their against-the-odds results in the Champions League but is adamant they can forget edging them out to win the group.
The Italian said: "It was a good result for Rangers to draw against Valencia, but we could only worry about ourselves and make sure we won.
"The Rangers draw with Valencia was a good result for us because it meant that two teams dropped points.
"We want to go to Turkey to win to make sure that we are all right with two games to go.
"I don't know who else will go through, but I think we have the best team in the group if we play our football.
"It was important for us to win the match because we lost a 2-0 lead against West Brom and needed to get back to a winning situation."
thx darren i like him now