Steven Gerrard not taken in by Midtjylland manager mind games

Steven Gerrard says he will not be taken in by Midtjylland manager Kenneth Andersen's mind games after he backed Rangers to handle the pressure in Denmark.

Anderson appeared to try and increase the pressure on Gerrard's side ahead of Thursday night's Europa League showdown by insisting the Scottish side were favourites to progress to the play-off round.

But Rangers boss Gerrard shrugged off those attempts as he said: "I'm not really interested in their manager's predictions or opinions. It's not important.

"My focus is on my own players. They [Midtjylland] are at home. We're the away team and we'll come with a game plan, then we'll see.

"I think he's trying to put pressure on our side but I don't think you can put any more pressure on me or our side, because we represent Rangers and that always comes with pressure."

Rangers go into the game on the back of Sunday's 2-1 win over Kilmarnock in their Scottish Premiership opener.

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Gerrard is aware of Midtjylland's reputation as set-piece specialists but also expects to play more expansive football than Killie.

"I saw a happy dressing room at Rugby Park," he said. "It was a big three points and a fantastic way to start the season but this will be a different challenge.

"It definitely will be a step-up in quality. We experienced that last year, with all due respect, as we moved through the qualifying rounds.

"The level of player goes up from an individual point of view. We are ready for that challenge. It has been well documented their strengths in terms of how good they are on set-pieces.

It definitely will be a step-up in quality. We experienced that last year, with all due respect, as we moved through the qualifying rounds.

"They have had a lot of joy and a lot of success over the years from a set-piece point of view, and they have a Brazilian connection here, so technically, they'll have individuals that can create interesting situations against us.

"So they are a good team. They don't have massive names in terms of throughout Europe, but as a club, they are well respected with the teams they have created.

"They have a Brentford connection as well [Midtjylland are also run by Brentford owner Matthew Benham] so we are well aware of their threats and their strengths, but we come here in a good place.

"We are right up for this challenge and it is over two games. It's important we do everything we can to try and set it up for Ibrox the week after."

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