I've never watched Rangers Europa League Final heartbreak back, says Tavernier (2025)

Ibrox captain James Tavernier was part of the side that were beaten on penalties by Frankfurt in the 2023 Europa League final and he's yet to watch a re-run of the match

It's the tape he just can’t bring himself to watch back.

There are enough memories playing on repeat in James Tavernier’s mind already without having to force himself to sit through that video nasty in full HD colour.

The defining moments of Rangers’ Europa League date with destiny in Seville can still be viewed in torturous slow motion.

The lapse of concentration that let Eintracht Frankfurt’s Raffa Borre in to cancel out Joe Aribo’s opener, the huge opportunity that Ryan Kent couldn’t put away just seconds from the end of extra time, Aaron Ramsey’s fateful shoot-out miss - each of them sliding-doors moments that slammed in the faces of Gio van Bronckhorst and his men.

But now three years on Tavernier reckons Rangers are ready to hit rewind on those painful recollections and record a new image of celebration.

First, they have to get past Athletic Bilbao at San Memes on Thursday night. But Tavernier will use the agony he went through in Andalusia as inspiration as they go for broke in the Basque Country on Thursday, writes Andy Newport from northern Spain.

Looking back to that brush with Ibrox immortality in the 2022 final, the skipper said: “I've still never watched a replay of the game.

“I think when I eventually hang my boots up I'll revisit it but it was obviously a hard one because it was a penalty shootout, that's something that really hurts.

“But to have that experience going all the way through the rounds and to get to the final, it’s once-in-a-lifetime stuff.

“Obviously, we have a really good chance at this stage of the season.

“We know we've got a tough opposition tomorrow, the talent that they've got throughout the team but anything's doable as long as we all stick together and really push for it.”

Tavernier has covered the long hard yards that take you to the final of one of UEFA’s major showpieces.

But for the likes of Jefte, Nico Raskin and Hamza Igamane, this is a new experience that Tavernier is doing his best to guide them along, like last week when they found themselves down to 10 men after just 14 minutes.

He said: “It's really important that we all play together as a team, I think that's what got us to the final last time.

“As a unit, as a whole team, playing together and just really working hard for one another.

“I think that's key for tomorrow, doing the same like we did in the first leg, working really hard for one another, limiting their chances and just trying to keep 11 on the pitch and create chances and score.

"I haven't [had to say much] because going through the competition this season, the lads have really stood up to the challenge against other teams.

“We've really stuck together in games where I've not had to say much. The boys have really taken it upon themselves to be professional, to be mature the way they play.

“It was a credit to the team in the last game when we played with 10 men, having to suffer without the ball and going down to nine men in injury time and with Liam Kelly saving with the penalty. The team have really thrived under these conditions.

“I'll obviously put small reminders that we'll obviously have to stick together as a team and I think the boys know that.”

With San Mames set to host the glamour final on May 21, the pressure is building on Bilbao to turn up for their own party.

And Tavernier hopes to turn that strain on Ernesto Valverde’s side.

He said: “You always want to try to unsettle home fans when you play away.

“You want to frustrate the opposition, you want to frustrate the home fans and try to maybe cause errors if we get the game.

“These are one of the favourites for the competitions and we're obviously big underdogs coming into this game but we've really got to relish this challenge and really be on the front foot and take the game to them.

“It's a beautiful stadium, just walking around it now and it'll be something that we obviously want to try and come back to for the final.”

Tavernier is expected to shift back into the centre-back role he’s been filling since Barry Ferguson’s appointment as Ibrox caretaker and he said: “Wherever the manager of the team needs me to play, I'll play anywhere to help the team.

“I've found it really comfortable moving the positions. Back into the right-sided centre-back, into centre-back, into right-winger-back, into right-back. All familiar positions I've played when I was younger.

“I'm really comfortable and like I said, I'm just here to do a job for the team and help the team and the club the best way I can.”