Been seeing a lot of takes that try to lump Rangers in with every failure in Scottish football and say we’re ‘equally to blame’. That doesn’t sit right. Yes, this Europa League was dire and the Champions League showed the gulf in quality, but overall the last five seasons have leaned more to the positives than the negatives for us — and the co-efficient story backs that up.
How the co-efficient tells a story
It’s easy to cherry-pick one awful European run and paint the whole era as collapse. The reality is different. Over the past five seasons Rangers have contributed heavily to Scotland’s co-efficient haul — more than most of the other clubs put together, apart from Celtic. That’s not to big up ourselves for the sake of it, but it is context. Consistent nights in Europe, the draws we took and the ties we won have mattered for the country as well as the club.
Scottish teams have suffered too
Look around the league and you’ll see low points for others as well. Hearts, Aberdeen, Hibs, Dundee United, Kilmarnock, St Mirren, Motherwell and St Johnstone have all had their European struggles in recent seasons. Celtic have also had seasons where Europe has been brutally short. That doesn’t excuse our current failings, but it does show that Scottish clubs generally have fragile European records and the occasional hammerings are widespread.
Pick yourselves up and go again
So where does that leave Rangers? We need to be clear eyed. This campaign was a mess and we’ll be judged for it, but history across five seasons shows we’ve done more good than bad. The job now is to regroup, sort the squad and attitude, and try again. The Champions League might be a step too far next season if the draw and form don’t go our way, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t aim high. Truth is, we’ve climbed from worse positions before — we can recover, but it needs steady planning rather than panic.
To be fair, the supporters know what EL nights at Ibrox felt like and why those memories matter. Time to channel that and get back to doing the basics right on the pitch.
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