Glasgow Rangers could potentially be fighting on four fronts at Ibrox this season – the Scottish Premiership, the two cups, and the Europa League.
Glasgow Rangers legend Nacho Novo has claimed that Ibrox boss Steven Gerrard may have to make a tough call in the 2019-20 season, that is whether to prioritise domestic matters or to have a go at a run in the Europa League.
The Gers have a busy July, with the Europa League qualifying campaign getting under way against either Prishtina of Kosovo or St Joseph’s of Gibraltar in the first qualifying round, the first leg of the tie scheduled to be played on July 11 with the return match one week later.
Should Rangers get through the first qualifying round, they have drawn Progres Niederkorn, Cork City or Cardiff Met University in a potential Europa League second qualifying round tie, this one being played on the July 25 and August 1.
Europe aside, there is also the pressing issue of the Scottish Premiership and cups, with the Bears’ bitter Glasgow rivals having won eight league titles in a row and claimed a domestic treble in each of the last three seasons – though Gers are certainly catching up.
Novo, who scored the winning penalty that took Rangers to a UEFA Cup final, acknowledges that Gerrard would love to steer the team to similar success on the continent, but at the same time he urged more attention on domestic matters, namely putting a halt to the Old Firm neighbours’ silverware wins.
“For me, stopping nine in a row is more important than Europe,” Novo is quoted by the Daily Record as saying. “Of course, you always go for a win in every game – draws are no good – but if you had to ask me what the priority is then I’d say the league.
“It will be good when the club can really make a big impact in Europe because the fans love those nights but the priority is stopping nine in a row… forget about 10, they need to stop nine.”
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