Former Hearts winger Arvydas Novikovas the man to watch for Legia, says Ziggy Gordon
Gordon played with Novikovas in the Polish top flight at Jagiellonia
Ziggy Gordon is a rare case of Scottish footballer making the jump abroad in an attempt to further their career.
He spent a year and a half in Poland, joining Jagiellonia Białystok in January 2017 before moving to Pogoń Siedlce a year later.
The former Hamilton defender, who now plies his trade in Australia with Central Coast Mariners, knows the Polish top flight better than most in this country.
Having played against Steven Gerrard’s Rangers side last season he’ll be an interested spectator from the other side of the world when they take on Legia Warsaw in the Europa League play-off on Thursday night.
He’s also tipping one of his former Jagiellonia teammates to cause Rangers problems at the Polish Army Stadium – a man that’s a familiar name to many in Scotland.
He said: “I think a lot of the responsibility will lie with Arvydas Novikovas.
"I know his strengths very well and he’s a very dangerous player.
“Rangers really need to take a lot of time to analyse him and make sure they stop him because he’s a major threat for Legia and something they’ll want to use".
Novikovas has gone from strength to strength since his five-year stay at Hearts.
He joined Legia in the summer and has already made six appearances for his new side, scoring once.
The 28-year old has had a taste of the intimidating atmosphere his new supporters create, and Ziggy Gordon has tipped Rangers to cope well with it.
He said: “I think it’ll be a real hostile atmosphere from the first minute but I think the Rangers players will be well educated on what to expect.
“I’m sure Steven Gerrard has told the players how to handle themselves because it will be tense and nervous.
Gordon says he can see many similarities between the two teams going into Thursday night’s match, but he thinks the Ibrox side have enough in them to make it to the Europa League group stages.
He said: “We’re talking about two super clubs. Both of them have very similar atmospheres at their home grounds so it will be nothing new to both sets of players.
“It’s very difficult to call because both teams are used to winning but if I had to put my money where my mouth is I would go for Rangers.
“They’ve had emphatic victories recently and I they’re scoring so many goals. I can’t see them conceding too many goals, especially going to Warsaw”