‘Room for more’: Rangers’ James Sands on the Ibrox change he would make and support from Gio Reyna

He believes there is room among the decades-old medals and memorabilia to display two more exhibits as Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s team look to win both the Europa League and Scottish Cup in the coming days.

Strolling through the room at the top of the marble staircase was a learning experience for Sands, who was on loan from New York City FC, but he would like to help leave a legacy.

“One of the first days I was here, I toured the trophy room. There’s not a lot of room in there, but I think they could make room for a few more. It’s something special and there aren’t many clubs in the world that have that. It was pretty unreal for me to play for one of these clubs.

“You know it’s old, there’s a lot of history and when you talk to the guys on the team or on staff you start to see how important it is to play in a European final.

“My friends and family see on TV what a big deal it is to play for this club.”

One American family that needs no reminder are the Reynas – father Claudio and Sands’ USA teammate Gio. The pair used to be on opposing sides in the Europa League but now the Borussia Dortmund midfielder is backing up Rangers against German rivals Frankfurt.

“I think he definitely draws for us,” Sands admitted. “When we played them I had a chance to see all his family and they all have fond memories of Rangers. Gio is too young but his mother and father have special memories from this place.

“I’ve known Gio for a while so playing against him was pretty cool and beating her was even better. Tyler Adams is in Leipzig. It’s nice to get one over on these guys.”

And Sands used his Bundesliga contacts ahead of Wednesday for additional information on Eintracht.

“I spoke to some friends and they said they were a good team, they were counterattacking and they had some quality up front. It’s nothing we haven’t seen in this competition before.”