Up for it: James Beattie says he can't wait for the Champions League to start. Pic: © SNS Group
James Beattie has looked ahead to Rangers’ Champions League matches and fancies his side to upset the odds. The Ibrox club have been drawn against Manchester United, Valencia and Bursaspor, and Beattie says they can finish at least second in the group.
“I’m sure finishing in second place is a realistic target,” the forward told Rangers news.
“If you ask all the boys here, that’s what they’ll be aiming for. We should probably be saying we are going for first place.”
Beattie, who signed for Rangers from Stoke City in the summer, revealed that Group C wasn’t his dream draw. He said that along with fellow new boy Vladimir Weiss, he had his eyes on different glamour ties.
“I watched the draw in the hotel I’m staying in with Vlad Weiss and we both had one eye on the group with AC Milan and Real Madrid in it,” he admitted.
“But for the club and the supporters, taking on United isn’t a bad alternative. It’ll be something special.”
The striker confessed that he had not yet studied his opponents but was confident that Rangers’ scouts would bring the players up to speed. Ian Durrant is set to travel this weekend to take in matches in Turkey and Spain.
“We know Buraspor are the champions of Turkey and Valencia are a massive club who are waiting to move into their new stadium,” Beattie said.
“They’re not teams we know an awful lot about, but I know the staff here have been watching them already and they’ll enlighten us as much as they can.”
Rangers kick off their Group C campaign next Tuesday when they travel to play Manchester United at Old Trafford.
