FORMER Rangers defender Dave Mackinnon knows a thing or two about what it takes to beat Borussia Dortmund and he’s tipped the current crop of players to knock out the Germans - just like he did almost 40 years ago.
Mackinnon was part of the Light Blues team that defeated Dortmund 2-0 at Ibrox in the first round of the UEFA Cup in 1982.
It was a famous European night down Edmiston Drive and one Mackinnon fondly remembers.
He said: “We had a great start to the season, we had beaten Aberdeen up at Pittodrie for the first time in a while and we were really flying.
“I liked to attack and get up the park but I always remember John Greig telling me, ‘Look, I don’t want you crossing the halfway line!’
“It was a bit alien to me but we had a very credible 0-0 draw over there in the first leg and there was a confidence in us, the players that we had were in top form.
“John Greig had us playing out from the back which was great. Jimmy Stewart used to roll the ball out and I basically would look up and would have Davie Cooper coming short, Bobby Russell, Robert Prytz and Jim Bett wanting the ball, inside there was John McClelland and Craig Paterson, all brilliant players and if they were marked I could hit it into the channel for big DJ [Derek Johnstone] or John MacDonald playing off him.
“We outplayed Dortmund at the Westfalen in the first game and we knew that we had the capabilities within the team to beat them.
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“As I remember, we scored just before the break to make it 1-0 and at half time John Greig, who was under a lot of pressure at the time, which I felt was unjust, came in and was so nervous he couldn’t speak properly so Tommy McLean had to take over the half time team talk.
“He basically just said, ‘Keep it going, keep doing the good things that you’re doing and we’ll do ok.’
“The fans were absolutely unbelievable, they cheered everything from start to finish and the place erupted when we scored.
“The support I got from the Rangers fans that night was brilliant. I tackled a few people and put a ball into the box, it needed a high tempo start and I thrived off that.
“They had a big number 11 who I knew I had in my pocket.
“I rattled him in the first leg and I tackled him a few times in the second leg.
“He got substituted and he came back at the end of the game, shook my hand and he said, ‘I am not used to people like you in Germany,’ and I said, ‘What do you mean?’, he said, ‘People don’t kick me and tackle me, this is a different game to me,’ I said, ‘Good, Welcome to Scotland!’
“When we beat Dortmund, everyone in the dressing room firmly believed that we would go on and do exceptionally well and win the league but injuries decimated the squad and confidence disappeared.”
Fast forward to the present day and Mackinnon says the fans have a big role to play in making sure Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s men are in Friday’s draw for the last-16.
He said: “I’m sure the fans will inspire the team tonight and give them the same support as we got because players thrive in that atmosphere. Crowds have got a huge part to play so I’m sure they’ll be out in their numbers and really give them the impetus to go and finish the tie.
“The team was set up properly in Dortmund. I like John Lundstram in the middle of the park, I think that adds a bit of stability. I’d like to see the same team, it worked really well over there.
“I thought every player played to the best of their ability and there was a certain arrogance by Dortmund who maybe felt they just had to turn up.
“It’s all about attitude, I think they’ll be different in the leg at Ibrox because they’ll realise they’re in a competition now.
“If Rangers go about their business the same way, get the fans on their feet from the first minute, go and win the first tackle, go and win the first header, have a bit of impetus towards the Dortmund goal a shot or something, just get the fans on their toes.
“They really need a good start Rangers and I think they’ve got it within their capabilities to go on and finish it off.”
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