Kanouté ready for rough ride

Sevilla FC forward Frédéric Kanouté has issued a warning to his team-mates ahead of Tuesday's Group G match with Rangers FC, priming them to be ready for an intimidating Scottish atmosphere.

Passionate support
The Liga high-fliers travel to Ibrox in wonderful domestic form and are favourites to return to Spain with three Group G points, but ex-Tottenham Hotspur FC striker Kanouté is wary of the electric atmosphere and has told his colleagues what they can expect from the passionate Rangers supporters. "We've been talking about the atmosphere and the support here as a group, and I know from my time in England what it's going to be like," he said. "The fans here really support their team and we know it will be tough, but we will have to try and overcome that. All teams in Scotland have that fighting spirit and are highly motivated and that could be dangerous.

European success
"We are not thinking beyond this game," added the 32-year-old. "We must concentrate on securing qualification from the group stage before we look further than that in the competition." Sevilla have happy memories of Glasgow after they won the 2007 UEFA Cup at Hampden Park, yet Kanouté believes coach Manuel Jiménez can boast an even more impressive squad than the one that lifted silverware two years ago. "If we win then we are nearly through to the next round, but we know this game could be complicated," he said. "I don't like to talk about winning the competition but we want to go further than two years ago and it's definitely possible because this team is better.

Unenviable position
"We had a good squad back then full of good players but this time we have a squad packed with good players so anything is possible. If you don't think positively, you wouldn't be playing the game," added the Malian international, who does not envy Jiménez in attempting to keep his players happy as well as fresh. "This squad is much stronger in numbers. Back then we couldn't rotate the squad as much, but we know we can because we have a squad full of quality. The coach has got a difficult job. We all want to play, but he's got to pick a team that is fresh."