Rangers Champions League beatings derailed title bid last term but I don't agree with nonsense Euro theory - Kenny Miller

“Maybe Rangers would be better off in the Europa League.” That’s a comment I’ve heard a few times after the club’s humiliation in the Champions League last season. But it’s absolute nonsense, it really is. You fight so hard to earn the right to play against the best in Europe. And you want everything that comes with that – like hearing that Champions League music back at Ibrox. Those nights are special and everyone looks forward to them.

So don’t tell me there’s a player in the Ibrox dressing-room who doesn’t want to be there. Michael Beale has a four-game challenge to navigate to hit the jackpot – starting against Servette on Wednesday night. He’s been through these scenarios before when he worked under Steven Gerrard. It might not have been the Champions League. But there was big pressure in 2018 to get the club back to European group stage football.

It was massive and they managed to do it every season they were there. Now, Rangers are back at the level where they belong – at Europe’s top table. The results and performances were poor last season. Heavy defeats to Liverpool, Napoli and Ajax were scarring, there’s no doubt about that. And players still at the club will want to get back there and put it right for personal pride.

There was a heap of criticism thrown at players last season – and rightly so, based on their performances. Yes, the calibre of teams they faced was high. But there also has to be an acceptance that – irrespective of who you play against when you wear that shirt – those levels weren’t good enough.

If you ask every single player today, they’ll say they want to be playing in the Champions League. So go and show it, then. Yes, you’ll face some bigger clubs with more resources and better players.