The Rangers squad is about to be obliterated and only 3 Europa League heroes will have key roles – Barry Ferguson

IT’S hard to believe but yesterday was one year to the day since I was sitting in sweltering Seville getting ready for a night I never thought I’d experience.

Having been lucky enough to play in a European final with Rangers, I got the chance to go to another one as a fan and the memories of both will live with me for a lifetime – bitter-sweet though they are. But what I’m struggling to get my head around is how, just 12 months on, the squad that reached that Europa League final is now about to be absolutely obliterated.

The way I see it only three of the starting XI against Eintracht Frankfurt will have any chance of starting the next European qualification campaign. Last May I was looking at a team I thought was about to go from strength to strength. Okay, the sales of Calvin Bassey and Joe Aribo were always likely to happen because that’s the way the business model works.

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But Gio van Bronckhorst was given some hefty backing in the transfer market and I genuinely expected Rangers to evolve into a side capable of moving on to the next level. It started well enough, qualifying for the Champions League, but the season quickly petered out. Now it’s not evolution that’s required, it’s a revolution Michael Beale has on his hands. Rangers simply cannot tolerate another trophyless season.

Only James Tavernier, Connor Goldson and Ryan Jack are certain to be part of the manager’s plans for the new campaign. Allan McGregor’s incredible career is almost certainly over. Borna Barisic is entering the final year of his contract and if Rangers have learned anything from the Ryan Kent fiasco it’s that they can’t afford to let any more of