ROYAL Antwerp manager Franky Vercauteren today stressed he has no concerns about facing Rangers in a Europa League last 32 tie in Belgium tomorrow night - despite five of the brox club's players being forced to self-isolate for breaking Covid-19 rules.

Vercauteren’s opposite number Steven Gerrard this afternoon revealed that Calvin Bassey, Brian Kinnear, Dapo Mebude, Nathan Patterson and Bongani Zungu have all been fined by the Ibrox club and ordered to quarantine.  

The quintet were issued with fixed penalty notices by Police Scotland in the early hours of Sunday morning for breaching coronavirus lockdown guidelines and attending a gathering of 10 people in a flat in Hyndland in Glasgow.

Gerrard, who admitted that he felt personally let down by the actions of the players, confrmed that Rangers were in dialogue with the SFA and the Scottish government about how to proceed.  

Left back Bassey, right back Patterson and central midfielder Zungu are all members of the first team squad and were likely to have been on the substitutes’ bench in the match in the Bosuilstadion tomorrow evening.

However, former Belgium winger Vercauteren is confident that no UEFA guidelines have been broken and stated that he is content for the match to go ahead as scheduled.   

“I am always happy with the rules,” he said. “I am not going to complain about that. You have no chance to discuss it or to change it. These are the rules, this is the way it works. So deal with it. There is no point using energy to think about it.”

Vercauteren, who could be missing as many as eight players due to injury and suspension, admitted he is sad the Europa League last 32 double header will be played behind closed doors because of the pandemic.

He recalled how he attended an Old Firm match in Scotland during his time as assistant manager of his national team and wanted to play the second leg in front of a full house at Ibrox.

“It is a pity in general,” he said. “Antwerp has a very fanatic support. We can use them, they are a help to us when we play at home. Nobody wants to come here and face the Antwerp public. We will miss them.

“But I will also miss the Ibrox support. Because if you are involved in football you want to play in these games, with a full stadium and this atmosphere. It is maybe to our advantage, but if you are a football fan or a coach of a top team you want to play in the best atmosphere with a lot of fans even if the fans help the home team.

“It is a pity we cannot play with the public. It would be much, much better. I will miss the Ibrox fans.  I had the opportunity once to see a local derby, Rangers against Celtic. These are the moments you want to live, it is why we play football, to be in that atmosphere and play.

“I was scouting for the national team. As an assistant I was going left and right to see games and follow players in different competitions. That is the reason for my visit. I was able to sometimes choose the game. It is a very good memory.”

Asked about his injury problems, Vercauteren said: “We are missing some players and we are weak around the offensive area in general. We don’t get a lot of goals.

"If you play in Europe, play at a high level, you know how difficult it can be to score goals, to create chances. At this stage you know how good your opponents are going to be.

"But to score goals in different ways is the responsibility of the whole team. We are winning together, we are losing together, so we are all responsible for that. It is a collective problem.”

“You will know the team tomorrow.  I will not tell you now. Two players are recuperating today, (Jeremy) Gelin and (Birger) Verstraete, who were not in the squad for the last game. They were not completely sharp or fit, but these 24 hours will be important for them.

“We will probably be without seven or eight players. But this is the reality, we have to deal with that. We still have to believe that the squad or the team is able to challenge and beat Rangers.

“It can sometimes be a reason, but we are not going to look for excuses because of the fact that some players are not playing. We will believe fully and give the confidence and responsibility to the team and the substitutes. This is what we have to deal with."