Great news: Rangers now handed big Ibrox boost that'll leave Van Bronckhorst elated - opinion

Rangers boss Giovanni van Bronkhorst has been handed a big lift at Ibrox ahead of next season’s Champions League…

A decision has now been made that will have big implications for teams in Scotland and Rangers specifically as it directly impacts how they will be able to qualify for the Champions League next term.

Indeed, The Scotsman have reported that UEFA has now decided to ban all teams in Russia from European competitions for the 2022/23 campaign.

For starters, the champions of the Premiership will gain automatic qualification for the competition, with Rangers currently sitting six points behind their rivals in the table.

Secondly, the runners-up in the Scottish top-flight will now enter into the third qualification round, instead of the second, next term.

The Ibrox giants head coach will surely be delighted with this news as it is a huge boost to his side heading into next season.

This change to the qualification rules means that the Gers have a better chance of making the group stages of the Champions League as they will not have to play the first two games that they would have otherwise had to play.

They are set to skip the second round, assuming they finish second in the Premiership and do not win the Europa League, and van Bronckhorst will be buzzing with that. Not only does it increase their chances of qualifying, as it removes the possibility of them being knocked out before the third stage, but it also means that his players have two fewer games to deal with.

Rangers will, therefore, have a smaller risk of burning their players out as they will save, at least, 180 minutes of football in the early parts of 2022/23. The head coach will be delighted by this as it will keep his players fresh and fit to compete on