Glasgow v Montpellier: Dave Rennie wary of 'motivated' Vern Cotter

Vern Cotter led Scotland to three wins in this year's Six Nations before he was succeeded by Gregor Townsend

Glasgow head coach Dave Rennie believes Vern Cotter will "have a lot of motivation" on his return to Scotland with Montpellier in the Champions Cup.

Rennie is well acquainted with his fellow New Zealander, whose French outfit visit Scotstoun on Friday.

Both sides face an uphill task to qualify for the knock-out stages after losing their opening two pool matches, with defeat ending either side's hopes.

"I know Vern well and I know he'll have a lot of motivation," Rennie said.

"He was coach of Bay of Plenty for a number of years and even when he came home (when he was coach of Clermont Ferrand in France), he used to pop in to Chiefs training, as Bay of Plenty is in that region.

"They [Montpellier] have picked a really big side - a massive backline as well as pack - so they will ask some questions of us.

"I am sure Vern will have done his homework and they'll be conscious that we've attacked pretty well this year.

"There's no doubt he knows our players well, but in the end it comes down to what the boys playing for him understand."

Rennie has led his side to 10 league wins out of 10, but they are up against it in Europe

Rennie hasn't given up hope of progressing in Europe despite having no points after losing their first two pool games - 24-15 at Exeter and 34-18 at home to leaders Leinster.

He has named a strong side - recalling half-a-dozen Scotland internationals to his starting side and giving centre Huw Jones his debut - in an attempt to keep their hopes alive, with a return fixture in Montpellier to follow a week on Saturday.

"We'll know a bit more after this game," Rennie told BBC Scotland. "I think you can still win four games and pick up the odd bonus (point) and get through.

"We know it's a tough pool and we've backed ourselves into a corner.

"Europe's a sprint. We probably could have afforded to have dropped a couple of games in the Pro14 and still been in a strong position.

"But we're going to give it a crack and I think Montpelier will probably have the same mind-set.

"If we can get a win there's still a chance. If not we'll have a rethink."