Success in Europe just the ticket for Halliday
ANDY HALLIDAY has been there. A Rangers fan before he was a Rangers player, he watched and wondered when his club would again be playing truly high-stakes European football.
The Ibrox utility man understands the sense of anticipation that has led to a 10,000-strong Light Blue legion descending upon Vienna. And it only intensifies his determination to help Steven Gerrard’s side deliver victory.
That outcome against Rapid this evening would see Rangers book continental action beyond Christmas for the first time since 2011.
It’s a tantalising prize. And Halliday knows there could be no better way to reward all those who have invested so much time and money in their passion for the club.
‘There are 10,000 Rangers fans coming over and I think I’ve had 10,000 requests for tickets,’ grinned the 27-year-old.
‘I was still getting texts on Wednesday morning but I had to turn my phone off last night.
‘I’ve told them they’ll need to try and get them on the streets like everyone else! But it’s a special occasion, it’s what you expect.
‘After the support we took to Leipzig for a friendly a couple of years ago, I thought there are simply no boundaries in terms of what Rangers fans will do to see their team.
‘I’m surprised but I’m not surprised, if you know what I mean.
‘The hunger to be at these games has built up over a few years now.
‘Before I’d joined the club, I always expected them to get back to this level and play on this stage again. You take it for granted as a young guy watching Rangers because you’re in Europe every year. But after what the club went through a few years ago, it makes it extra special.
‘This is a massive game, the type we’ve not had for a number of years. So it’s understandable that the fans are looking forward to it.
‘We have plenty of belief in ourselves and we have one opportunity to reach the knockout stage.
‘If you offered us 90 minutes to reach the last 32 at the start of the season we would certainly have taken that.
‘We have had a lot of good results in Europe this season, although it will count for nothing if we can’t get over the final hurdle.’
The game also offers a chance to atone for recent woes on the domestic front.
Top of the Premiership after defeating Hearts 11 days ago, leaking five points against Aberdeen and Dundee swiftly bruised any sense of optimism about their title prospects.
‘We owe the manager a performance after the last two, 100 per cent,’ admitted Halliday (right).
‘To put ourselves in the position we did after the Hearts game — to now be in the position we’re in now — it shows how quickly football can change. ‘But as quickly as it can change for the worse, it can just as quickly change again for the better. We know we’re 90 minutes away from achieving something very special. ‘We’re frustrated that the standards have dropped in the last two games. Because we’ve shown how good we can be. But we’ve also shown an ugly side in terms of how poor we can be, too. ‘That is disappointing because chances don’t come along too often when you’re going for titles. ‘So we’ve got to realise that it’ll take even more hard work to put ourselves back in the position we were in. ‘If we get that chance again, we have to try and stay there. ‘I certainly believe we’ve got a mentality in the group to handle playing for this club. ‘Our first major blip was being knocked out of the (Betfred) Cup by Aberdeen. But after that we went on a good run. So I’m convinced that we can do that again.’