KYLE LAFFERTY admits he is desperate to avoid his first European outing for Rangers being the club's last of the season when they face FBK Kaunas tonight (kick-off 6.05pm).
The Lithuanians earned a goalless draw at Ibrox last week, meaning Rangers' hopes of progressing to the Champions League third qualifying round hang in the balance.
Danish outfit Aalborg are the likely opponents in the next round, as Walter Smith
's men bid to join rivals Celtic in the lucrative group stages. But Rangers are well aware that the wrong result against Kaunas would signal a premature end to their European campaign.
Lafferty – who has yet to make his competitive debut – is hoping to have an important role to play tonight as Rangers aim to secure the all-important win.
"The lads know how important the game is so we just have to go out and play to our best," the 20-year-old said.
"We battered them in the second half so if we look at that and go and play the same way there's no hesitation we'll win.
"Everyone knows how big a club Rangers is and this game is massive for the club because it puts us through to the third round. If I'm involved I don't want to be in the game that puts us out of the Champions League.
"Everyone is going to be up for it and the gaffer will make sure everyone's up for it."
Despite last week's stalemate, Lafferty insists Kaunas hold no fear for Rangers in the return leg. He added: "Everyone knew how big a game the first leg was and there was a lot of frustration among the players and the fans.
"But we have another game to put it right and I'm sure we'll go out and do it. We knew what Kaunas would be like because this is European football and we just have to deal with that.
"It was a great result for them at Ibrox, but when we got the ball down and started passing it then I think everyone could see we were the better team. We're not worried about them because we know we can go out and beat them."
The full article contains 375 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
