Rangers fans have been denied European football for the best part of a decade now, and Celtic’s midweek clashes will not be helping the club’s frustrations
Rangers have been without European football since the 2010/11 season when they crashed out to PSV Eindhoven in the Europa League round of 16 stage, losing 1-0 on aggregate.
This is understandable due to the club’s financial meltdown that saw them re-enter Scottish Football in the fourth tier, working their way up through the leagues tirelessly.
Having returned to the Scottish Premiership, and having been forced to endure two seasons where Celtic have enjoyed facing up against Europe’s finest in the Champions League, this can only be a source of frustration for the Gers faithful.
Nonetheless, Celtic’s midweek games against the likes of Manchester City, Barcelona, Bayern Munich and PSG should provide a serious source of added motivation for the Rangers players, who will be longing for the chance to face up against this calibre of opponent.
Much of the Rangers squad who signed for the club during their period in the lower league’s would have never even imagined playing in European competition amongst the continent’s elite, however, having begun to re-establish themselves as the nation’s second top team, the chance for qualification will only become more likely in the coming seasons.
This campaign, Rangers crashed out in an embarrassing first round qualifier against Luxembourgish side Progres Niederkorn, arguably one of the club’s worst European results in their 146 year history.
With this year being the 10 year anniversary of Rangers’ last European final, it is a harsh reminder of how far the club has actually fallen.
To rub added salt to the wound, Celtic now have the chance on Thursday to send Zenit St Petersburg out of the competition, the same team that Rangers lost to in the 2008 UEFA Cup Final, handing the Russian outfit their first ever European title.
Regardless, Celtic’s gloss matches against the European elite will hurt Rangers and their fans, but should be a quick reminder of what the club is striving to achieve.
The Ibrox club has done terrifically well to return to the top tier of Scottish football in such a short period of time, given where they were just a few years ago.
Should they secure second place this season, which is looking likely, a run in the Europa League would be a massive boost for a club that has been crying out for a positive feel since dropping into League Two in 2012.
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