MCCULLOCH: GERS CAN AVOID PAIN IN SPAIN
Light Blues will take great confidence from qualifying campaign into Europa League Group stage opener at Villarreal
THE aim for Steven Gerrard at the start of the season was to take Rangers into the group stage of the Europa League.
Now it will be to give as good an account of themselves as possible and see where that takes them over the next six fixtures against Villarreal, Rapid Vienna and Spartak Moscow.
Rangers head to Villarreal this week on the back of a 4-0 win over Dundee and everyone will be looking forward to the chance to play against a really good side, albeit one that hasn’t started well in La Liga.
I think Rangers will be quietly confident. They have shown that they can defend well and play that counterattacking game in Europe already this season but obviously this time it is against a higher calibre of opposition.
But it is one to take the experience from, to go and enjoy and to try and win. I wouldn’t rule them out getting something either.
There is a confidence there having come through the four qualifying rounds and there is no pressure on Rangers going to Spain.
No matter how Villarreal have started, and they only got their first win against Leganes at the weekend, they are still one of the top sides in Spain and are experienced, established European performers.
The pressure is not as intense on Rangers from the outside but, knowing the way the management team go about their business, Steven and the staff will be looking for a result, and rightly so.
It shows you how far the club and the team have come in a short space of time and expectation levels have increased since Steven came in and overhauled the squad.
The distance Rangers have travelled is there for everyone to see. You will get judged at the end of the season but, from what we have seen so far, it is night and day from last term.
I don’t think anyone will get carried away and everyone knows that it will be in May where you get looked at.
But the evidence so far is
‘‘ There is a myth that team spirit is built on nights out. It is built on winning
encouraging for the supporters and I don’t know how anyone can have negative views of the manager or the players right now.
Look at the transformation in guys like Andy Halliday, Ryan Jack, even James Tavernier since he became captain, and Alfredo Morelos and Daniel Candeias.
All of those players have had their confidence levels raised and they have raised their performance levels. That is down to the player, of course, but it has to come from the top too.
Anyone that says there is no improvement are kidding themselves on or just saying it to be heard. There is a massive difference to Rangers from last season and hopefully that will continue as the campaign goes on. The challenge for the players is to prove that in the Premiership. They need to compete with Celtic for the title and look to lift a bit of silverware in the cup competitions.
But they will want to do as well as they can in the Europa League as well and the chance to play in European football is one I am sure they will relish.
It is different football. The atmospheres and environments are different and it was always something that I enjoyed as a player.
If you ask a lot of guys here, they will tell you one of their main gripes is that they play against the same teams and players too often over the course of the season.
So to get away from that and experience a new style and new opposition, and test yourself against some of the best in Europe, is a welcome change for any player.
It is important that you enjoy these occasions and you go there and give it your best. If you get a result, it will only enhance your confidence levels coming back ahead of an important league game on the Sunday.
As a team, if you go into European competition and you get a result, it brings you team spirit and brings you closer together.
There is this myth that team spirit is built by nights out and everything else. It is winning games that creates team spirit.
As an individual, the confidence these players can take from playing well, competing with and hopefully beating European teams is huge. When you come back, you have a team that plays together but individuals that have a spring in their step as well.
Performing well in Europe can only help with the domestic campaign and that is something the manager will be trying to get across to the players that haven’t had the chance to experience group stage football before.
There is always a lot of talk surrounding the Europa League about playing Thursday and Sunday but tiredness, in my opinion, can be a state of mind.
When you are confident and playing well and winning games, you forget about tiredness. You just want the next game to come, you just want that next win when you are sky high.
That is why it is important that Rangers apply themselves right and do as well as they can in the Europa League. If they do, the domestic games will take care of themselves.