I've followed Rangers to Seville again but this time it should be more comfortable - for the fans if not the players

The last time I followed Rangers to Seville, the Frying Pan of Spain was sizzling at full blast.

The Andalusian capital is famed for being the hottest city in Europe and it was certainly cooking when the Ibrox side were here 19 months back for their shot at Europa League destiny. Daytime temperatures in the mid-40s made venturing out in the uncovered sunshine the equivalent of stepping into Hell’s Kitchen. It was sweaty alright but made worse by the shambolic organisation of the Final at Sevilla’s Estadio Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan, which left the Gers punters wilting as their side failed to serve up the win over Eintracht Frankfurt that would have earned them Ibrox immortality.

With water bottles confiscated from fans as they made their way inside and kiosks running out of refreshment supplies well before kick-off, what should have been an experience of a life-time for the thousands of travelling Rangers supporters turned out to be a gruelling endurance test long before the night ended with the agony of Aaron Ramsey’s missed spot-kick.

Mercifully for the 3,000 fans returning to the city today, things should be a fair deal more comfortable. It’s been a difficult pack. Having left a drizzling Glasgow behind on Tuesday, the Scottish press pack touched down in Seville to find the mercury sitting at a balmy 20°C.

But it’s a good bit chillier at night and punters heading to Real Betis’s Estadio Benito Villamarin this evening would be best advised to forget the shorts and sunnies and dig out a fleece. But the cooler conditions is at least one less thing for Philippe Clement to worry about as he sends his injury-hit squad out for their final Europa League group clash.

The Belgian will be without a raft of regulars, with Todd