Philippe Clement insists Rangers will park encouraging European ambitions to concentrate on the Scottish Gas Scottish Cup tie against Hibernian on Sunday.
There is little respite for the Light Blues, who drew 2-2 with Benfica in the first leg of their Europa League last-16 tie in Lisbon on Thursday night, with the return game at Ibrox next week.
The cinch Premiership leaders are now preparing for the last-eight clash with the Hibees at Easter Road, where Clement believes their focus will be “200 per cent. No doubt about that”.
The Belgian boss, whose side beat Hibernian 4-0 at Ibrox in his first game in charge of the Govan club last October and 3-0 in Leith in January, said: “My team have been working hard all season in that way and never stopped.
“Good proof is after the Real Betis game (in December), a few days later they had the Viaplay Cup final and they were there (won 1-0).
“My team is hungry to win more trophies and we know we need to play well against Hibs because they are really hungry to beat us, apparently.
“We are going to see how people recover for the next two days and we are going to go hard to get into the semi-final because it is important.
“I have read that they (Hibs) were really unlucky in their last two games against us. So they have a lot of belief, clearly.
“So it is about us getting a good result there and qualifying.”
Clement was proud of all of his players’ efforts in Lisbon but had special praise for Portuguese attacker Fabio Silva, on loan from Wolves, who returned to a club where he spent two years in the youth system and turned in a fine performance on the left-hand side.
He said: “Fabio is growing. He is still a young player at 21. We had a lot of talks before he came to Rangers about his role and the roles he could play.
“We talked about him as a striker and also playing on the left side, or even around the striker. He can do all these roles and he showed his quality in this game.
“You see he has integrated really quickly into the squad and feels really good within the club. He plays with a smile and gives a lot of energy to the team.
“He has his qualities and is taking more and more control of his emotions. We talked a lot about that, that it’s the next step for him to take.
“I am really happy about how he handled the game in Lisbon because it was a hostile situation with a lot of attention towards him. But he played for the team, to show everybody he’s a good player.
“He played to be good player for Rangers and that’s important to me.”
De Rossi 'can do great things' at Roma, says former team-mate Cafu
Cafu admits he did not see former team-mate Daniele De Rossi becoming a head coach, but hopes the Roma boss can "do great things" with the Giallorossi.
The former midfielder replaced Jose Mourinho in the Stadio Olimpico dugout in January on a deal until the end of the season, and has overseen nine victories in 14 Serie A games - only losing to newly crowned champions Inter and fourth-place Bologna.
De Rossi's glittering career at Roma as a player, which brought over 600 appearances across an 18-year period, was in its infancy when he briefly played alongside Cafu for the Giallorossi during the early 2000s.
The former Brazil captain, who played 217 times between 1997 and 2003, helped the club win the Scudetto under Fabio Capello in the 2000-01 season, and was inducted into their Hall of Fame in 2012.
And the 53-year-old has been delighted by the strides De Rossi has made since their playing days.
"I know him well. He's that kid who used to play with us, who we saw grow up at Roma," Cafu told Stats Perform. "Now, he has become the boss of one of the most important teams in the world and in Italy, which is Roma.
"Things change a lot in football. He seemed to be a shy and calm guy, and yet he grew up, becoming this really great coach. We have to wish him good luck. I hope he can do great things.
"I am very happy when I see that my team-mates are doing well, working as coaches, deputy coaches, athletic trainers. It is always very pleasing for me to see that they have grown a lot in the world of football.
"It is even more pleasing to see that kid grow up, a kid that now has become a coach, a great one; I am very happy."
De Rossi is also overseeing another impressive European campaign for Roma, who were Europa League runners-up to Sevilla last term and back in the semi-finals of this season's competition.
The Giallorossi are gearing up for a mouth-watering showdown with newly crowned Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen, who are unbeaten in all competitions.
"It's always hard to say when you're talking about two great teams," Cafu added. "Both Bayer and Roma are playing really well. I hope Roma can play a great game and get as far as they can."
Bruno Fernandes hints at Manchester United departure
Bruno Fernandes hinted he may leave Manchester United in the close season, but insisted he will not consider his future until after the European Championship.
The United skipper has been one of the Red Devils' standout performers during a tricky campaign for Erik ten Hag's side, who are sixth in the Premier League and six points behind fifth-place Tottenham with three games remaining.
Fernandes has chipped in with 26 direct goal involvements (15 goals, 11 assists) - the most by any United player - and became the first player to create over 100 chances in the Premier League this term during Saturday's 1-1 draw with Burnley.
The club are reportedly prepared to sell most of their top players in the close season under the new Jim Ratcliffe regime, though the Portugal international is still under contract at Old Trafford until June 2026.
With the European Championship and an FA Cup final against Manchester City on the horizon, the 29-year-old says that remains his top priority and he will focus on his future further down the line.
"I'm not thinking about other things at the moment. Obviously, it doesn't just depend on me, does it?" he told DAZN Portugal.
"A player always has to want to be here, but at the same time, you have to want him to stay. At the moment, I feel there's that on both sides.
"I'm not thinking too much about the future, not least because this season hasn't been at the level I’d hoped for - either individually or collectively - so far.
"If I have to think about not continuing in the Premier League, it won't be until after the Euros. Nothing will be able to take my focus away from the FA Cup final and the Euros, as there's nothing more important than that at the moment."
Al Ittihad 1-2 Al Hilal: Holders into King's Cup final
Al Hilal overcame Sergej Milinkovic-Savic's red card as Saud Abdulhamid's late goal sealed a 2-1 victory over Al Ittihad in the King's Cup semi-finals.
Without Karim Benzema, Al Ittihad ultimately lacked the firepower to make their numerical advantage count in Tuesday's clash.
Former Lazio midfielder, who joined Al Hilal as part of their spending spree last year, received a straight red card in the 42nd minute.
Al Ittihad's Abderrazzaq Hamed-Allah cancelled out Micheal's opener, but Abdulhamid popped up with the winner in the 81st minute.
Al Hilal are 10-time King's Cup winners, having won their 10th title last season.
The Saudi Pro League leaders, who are still without the injured Neymar, will now face either Al Khaleej or Cristiano Ronaldo's Al Nassr in the final at the end of May.
Data Debrief: Malcom in the middle
Al Hilal might be missing their star Brazilian Neymar, but his compatriot Malcom is delivering when it comes to playmaking.
The former Zenit attacker set up both of Al Hilal's goals, creating three chances in total and registering a pass accuracy of 92.6 per cent, better than any of his team-mates.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
