St Johnstone can be the team who beat the team in their Europa League clash with Galatasaray, according to captain Jason Kerr.
Rangers got the better of the Turkish side in last season’s Europa League qualifiers, fuelling belief in the Perth camp that they can do the same given their own stunning Scottish Cup result at Ibrox.
“Rangers are a top side and they showed that last season, winning the title without losing a game in the league,” said Kerr.
“Galatasaray are obviously a top side as well but if Rangers can beat them then why can’t we?
“We gave Rangers a lot of problems last season. We put them out of the Scottish Cup in the quarter-finals before going on to win it.
“If we don’t believe we can go there and cause them problems then we’d be as well staying at home.
“We think we’ve got a top side here and that we can really muster something up to give them a good test.
“It’s going to be really difficult, especially in the heat. We will have to adapt our game plan – we can’t be as high-intensity as we would be back home.”
Lifting two trophies at Hampden has given Kerr memories for life and swapping pennants in the centre-circle of the Fatih Terim Stadium will provide another.
“Leading the boys out in a Scottish Cup final has been the pinnacle of my career so far,” he said.
“But playing against Galatasaray will be right up there and if we can get a result then it could top everything.
“We feel like the next step is to do well in Europe and we feel we’re capable of getting a result.”
Missed out on Trakai game
Kerr was on the fringes of Saints’ last European adventure in 2017, when Tommy Wright included him in the squad that flew out to Lithuania to play FK Trakai but started Ally Gilchrist in place of an injured Steven Anderson.
“It was nice to be a part of it,” he recalled. “Going out there with the boys and discovering what it’s all about.
“All the young lads who travel to Turkey with us will get a good experience as well.
“The gaffer obviously knew it was slightly early for me and a couple of weeks later I went to Queen of the South on loan.
“That was a good decision by Tommy Wright and I am grateful to him for that.
“Four years down the line, to be playing against Galatasaray in the Europa League – one of the best teams in Europe – it’s what dreams are made of.”
Kerr added: “It’s not at their home stadium but I watched the second leg against PSV and even though it wasn’t full, it sounded like it.
“Their fans will be intimidating.
“I’ve watched them a few times in the Champions League over the years and those are the types of games and atmospheres we want to play in.”
Kerr won’t be getting over-excited about the 7-2 thrashing over two legs by Eindhoven.
“Obviously PSV are a really good side and they can do that to any club in the world,” he said. “So we won’t be reading too much into it.
“But Galatasaray did concede quite a few goals over the two legs and the gaffer will be looking at that and how we can exploit them and implement our style of play on them.
“We are under no illusions that they are a really good squad and will be a really tough test for us. It’s Galatasaray, one of the top teams in Europe, so we are going to respect them as much as we can but we are top side as well and showed that last season, so we are really going to have a go at them.”
