Red Star Belgrade manager Milorad Kosanovic would like his side to go for the jugular when they face Rangers in Tuesday's Champions League qualifier.
The Serbian champions scraped through the last round on away goals to Estonian club Levadia Tallinn, those games costing previous manager Bosko Djurovski his position when he was urged to tender his resignation late Thursday.
His successor already finds himself under load after Red Star opened the new league campaign with an unconvincing goalless draw against newly-promoted Cukaricki on Saturday.
Kosanovic has now promised a more positive approach against Rangers at Ibrox, before what is sure to be a daunting return leg at Belgrade's imposing 'Marakana' stadium for Walter Smith's men on August 28.
"The most important thing is to play our own game," mentioned Kosanovic.
"We will not go there to defend ourselves and we will certainly use every opportunity to attack the Rangers goal. Nobody can guarantee us success in the return leg if we only defend ourselves in Glasgow. We will play tough and attempt to convert every opportunity that we get."
Red Star won the Serbian championship with a resounding 17 point advantage over city rivals Partizan, who were beaten by Rangers in the UEFA Cup last season.
But Kosanovic says that not to be overly concerned by their uninspiring stalemate at the weekend ahead of such a vital European match.
He added, "We are still in the early phase where we are building our game plan and gauging the players' capabilities. My main goal before this match was to find the best starting line up for the upcoming match in Glasgow, and I think that I have succeeded in that. Against Cukaricki we showed both our resolve and patience. We created a lot of space on the wings, however we lacked some luck in converting those opportunities into goals."
11 August 2007
Walter Smith does not think Rangers will necessarily benefit from the recent turmoil at Red Star Belgrade in their Champions League qualifier.
The Serbian champions have parted company with coach Bosko Djurovski and replaced him with Milorad Kosanovic only days before they visit Ibrox in the 1st leg of the 3rd round qualifier.
The move comes as a surprise With Djurovski having led Red Star to a resounding championship triumph over rivals Partizan Belgrade.
But Smith remains wary ahead of a tie which stands between Rangers and the lucrative Champions League.
He said, "Sometimes turmoil can lift a team. The people in charge of the club must have thought they should were doing better than they were however I still think we will need to play exceptionally well to beat them. Red Star might have lost the allure they had years ago however FK Zeta showed us in the last round that the former Yugoslavia still houses a decent level of player. I know Red Star have added 4 new players to the team which won the title last season and they are bound to be of good quality."
Rangers coach Ian Durrant watched Red Star scrape past Estonian club Levadia Tallinn on away goals in the last round whilst Rangers enjoyed a 3-0 aggregate win over FK Zeta.
Smith added, "Ian tells me Red Star looked the better side over the 2 legs of the tie however might were slightly fortunate to get away with it on away goals. However, I still think we will need to play exceptionally well to get anywhere."
Rangers' Scottish Premier League opener, which they won 3-0 at Inverness last week, was sandwiched between the 2 games against Zeta and Smith admitted that it was a gruelling start to the campaign.
He said, "Switching from one competition to another is a disadvantage for me at this time of the season because I am trying to look at as most of my own players as probable whilst needing to field a settled team. I looked at our side in Montenegro during the week and realised that FK Zeta had assembled a side which had changed very little, if at all, over the previous 12 months. Working on 2 fronts was awkward for my players, even if we must enjoy being involved in this particular competition."
10 August 2007
Red Star Belgrade has sacked coach Bosko Djurovski ahead of its Champions League qualifiers against Rangers.
Djurovski mentioned he was fired due to his team's poor display against Estonian side Levadia Tallinn when it lost 2-1 in Wednesday's Champions League qualifier. Red Star still advanced to the 3rd qualifying round thanks to a 1-0 triumph at home in the 1st leg.
Djurovski, who had taken over last season, mentioned he could be replaced by Milorad Kosanovic who coached Red Star 10 years ago.
"Fresh blood is needed ahead of the vital match against Rangers,'' mentioned Djurovski, who will stay in the club.
Red Star, the European Cup champion in 1991, has never qualified for the Champions League since the format was introduced in 1992.
08 August 2007
Rangers will face Red Star Belgrade in the final round of Champions League qualifying after the Serbian side scraped past Levadia Tallinn.
Red Star led 1-0 from the 1st leg however lost 2-1 in Estonia Wednesday afternoon.
Deniss Malov and Konstantin Nahk scored for Levadia, however Igor Burzanovic's away goal proved decisive as the tie finished 2-2 on aggregate.
Rangers will be at home in the 1st leg next Tuesday, with the away game expects to be played Wednesday, August 29 in Belgrade.
03 August 2007
Liverpool were paired with French side Toulouse in the 3rd and final qualifying round for the Champions League, whilst Arsenal face Czech club Sparta Prague.
The Reds will travel to France for the 1st leg of their tie to face a Toulouse side that finished 3rd in Ligue 1 last season under the charge of former Bordeaux and St Etienne coach, Elie Baup.
Liverpool reached the final of the competition last season, before losing 2-1 to AC Milan in Athens.
Arsene Wenger's Gunners face a tougher test of their mettle, with the 1st leg of their meeting with Sparta taking place in the Czech capital.
Sparta are the reigning champions of the Czech Republic and have former The Hammers defender Tomas Repka in their current squad.
The 2 sides met in the group stages of the competition 2 seasons ago, with Arsenal winning 2-0 in Prague and 3-0 in the Highbury return.
SPL champions Celtic were handed a tough draw against Spartak Moscow, with the 1st leg away in the Russian capital.
Rangers, who hold a 2-0 lead over Montenegrin champions FK Zeta from the 1st leg of their 2nd qualifying round tie, will face either Crvena Zvezda or Levadia Tallinn in the final qualifying round.
The games are planned to be played on August 14 and 15 and August 28 and 29.
02 August 2007
A hat trick from Rene Aufhauser inspired FC Salzburg to a 3-0 triumph at Latvia's Ventspils in the 1st leg of the UEFA Champions League 2nd qualifying round Wednesday.
The Austrian champions, coached by former Italy manager Giovanni Trapattoni and bankrolled by energy-drink mogul Dietrich Mateschitz, should have little trouble wrapping up the tie in next week's 2nd leg.
A brace from livewire Burkina Faso forward Yssouf Kone and a penalty from former Spurs forward Steffen Iversen also gave Norwegian title holders Rosenborg a healthy 3-1 away win at Kazakhstan's FC Astana.
Dinamo Zagreb beat Slovenian side Domzale 2-1 away however 1991 European Cup winners Red Star Belgrade have more work to do if they are to reached August's 3rd round, which will include big guns such as Liverpool and Lazio.
Serbia winger Ognjen Koroman netted with a swivelling shot from 25 metres after side-stepping a defender to grab the only goal as Red Star beat Estonia's Levadia Tallinn 1-0 at home.
Besiktas also stuttered to a 1-0 triumph over Moldova's Sheriff in Istanbul whilst Slavia Prague were held to a goalless draw over the border at Slovakia's Zilina, who beat Luxembourg's Dudelange 7-5 on aggregate in July's 1st round.
7 other 1st leg ties were played Tuesday with the return legs all taking place next week.
