Papac: We held our nerve in Uefa Cup glory run..we can do sameiIn Kaunas

Aug 3 2008 By Scott Mcdermott

RANGERS will face the heat this week as they prepare for the tie in Kaunas that will determine their Euro fate.

But ice-cool Sasa Papac insists Gers won't melt under the pressure after showing plenty of guts on their memorable march to the UEFA Cup Final last term.

After a dismal 0-0 draw at Ibrox, Walter Smith's men will crash out of Europe if they fail to get past FBK Kaunas on Tuesday.

And that would see the knives come out before the domestic campaign has even started.

It's squeaky bum time for Rangers so guys like Papac will be crucial in Lithuania as they bid to secure a meeting with Danish side Aalborg or Modrica of Bosnia in the final qualifier.

The Bosnian defender has been through enough in his life not to get worried easily.

And when asked about whether he expects the second-leg clash to be a "nervy evening", he just shrugged his shoulders and smiled.

Nerves? Papac doesn't seem to know the meaning of the word and why should he? The defender was one of the brave volunteers who stepped up in Florence during the dramatic UEFA Cup semi-final shoot-out win over Italian giants Fiorentina.

And after that drama a trip to Lithuania doesn't seem so daunting.

He said: "We weren't nervous after 120 minutes against Fiorentina so we won't be nervous in Kaunas.

"We had the same problems against FK Zeta last year. We played our worst game of the season against them at the same stage but won.

"It's difficult trying to play in the Champions League so early but we will be much better in Kaunas."

Despite Papac's relaxed manner he admits Rangers must find an injection of pace to hurt their rivals.

Sasa said: "We must play better and faster than we did at Ibrox.

"It's no use having a good tempo for maybe the last 10 minutes of the first half even though we made three or four chances in that period.

"In the second half we had good movement but not that much. We only played well for five minutes.

That's not enough to win a tie like this. People have said our midfielders are too similar but it's the whole team."

Gers' draw against Kaunas was their first competitive match since skipper Barry Ferguson was ruled out of action with an ankle injury.

The Scotland midfielder will miss a huge chunk of the new season but Papac has urged other midfielders like Kevin Thomson and Charlie Adam to grasp their big chance.

He said: "Barry is our captain and leader. We need him and face a difficult time without him.

"But it gives other players the chance to do more in midfield. Barry pulls the team together at times and maybe we miss him too much.

"CarlosCuellar is another big loss.

We played well against Kaunas in defence but need Carlos back."

Papac is adamant Rangers will get the result they need in Lithuania as he believes Kaunas are no better than Montenegro minnows Zeta.

And he hopes they play into Smith's hands by attacking Gers.

Sasa said: "Kaunas are the same as Zeta - nothing special. They will bemore confident in Lithuania and I think we'll have more space to play.

"They will attack usmore but we have the players to win."