Rangers assistant manager Gary McAllister admits the Light Blues can play better after a dismal 0-0 draw in Armenia with Alashkert last night – but the Ibrox number two is delighted at securing a place in the Europa League group stages for the fourth year in a row.
Amid a string of Covid issues which left Steven Gerrard, James Tavernier and a number of senior players in Scotland, the Light Blues went through 1-0 on aggregate thanks to Alfredo Morelos’ first-leg strike.
Rangers will go into today’s group stage draw as one of the second seeds and McAllister is looking forward to some ‘special’ European nights at Ibrox for the Scottish champions over the coming months.
“We are absolutely delighted that we are in the draw for the group stages,” McAllister said.
“I think the fact that we have now done it four years on the bounce is a fantastic achievement for the players and it is wonderful for the club.
“We are going to be in the draw with some prestigious names – I will hold my hands up, it wasn’t pretty tonight, but we have had a difficult two or three days.
“I want to stress, but it was incredibly hot – at the beginning of the game we are talking 33C, and I think it cooled down to 29C.
“We have played better, but we did make the best chances, we hit the woodwork a couple of times and Alfredo [Morelos] has had a couple of good chances where you expect him to score.
“We came here to get a result, and we go back with the result.”
Rangers Europa League campaigns in the last two seasons have seen the Gers reaching the last 16 before the competition was revamped over the summer.
This season’s Europa League will only feature 32 teams in the groups, rather than 48, with an additional playoff round taking place before the last 16.
These will be between the eight Europa League group runners-up and the eight third-ranked teams of the Champions League groups – making winning the group even more important.
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