Rangers boss Steven Gerrard has told his squad they will need to be ready for an increase in level and physicality when they take on French sides Lyon and Nice later this week. 

The Gers are preparing for the start of the new Scottish Premiership season on 1st August and have been handed a tough opener, against Aberdeen.

 



They are in action at a friendly tournament in France later this week and will play Lyon on Thursday and then Nice on Saturday, as they step up their match action.

Rangers had a behind closed doors friendly with Hamilton last week and Gerrard has told his players that the level will go up when they meet the challenge of Lyon and Nice.
 


"It has been really tough to arrange friendlies in the pre-season with the Coronavirus, so to get teams of the level of Lyon and Nice to test ourselves against is valuable for us, especially going into Aberdeen on the first game of the season", Gerrard told Rangers TV.



"They will be tough tests – the physicality will go up, the mobility and the quality of the opposition will go up with all due respect and we need to be ready for that."

Lyon were sitting in seventh place in Ligue 1 when the French season was brought to an early close, while Nice were one point and one place better off, in sixth.
 

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Following the start to the new Scottish season, Rangers are then in action against Bayer Leverkusen in the second leg of their Europa League last 16 tie; they lost the first leg 3-1.