Former Rangers striker Kenny Miller has predicted that his old club will finish second in their Europa League group this year despite leaving rave reviews over all of their opponents.
The Gers have Villarreal, Spartak Moscow and Rapid Vienna for company in their group, but Miller – who now plays for Dundee after his third spell at the Ibrox ended this summer – reckons that they are capable of achieving second, despite the tough opposition.
He adds that the fact that Steven Gerrard’s side have managed to qualify for the group stages after being knocked out in the first qualifying round last season is “admirable” – and that Thursday’s clash with Villarreal is not “beyond them.”
“If they can get out of the group it would be a fantastic achievement,” he told BBC Scotland.
“Rapid Vienna – as we have seen the last few years against Scottish opposition – are a good team. Spartak Moscow is always a tough place to go and Villarreal, as much as they haven’t started this season well, got their first win at the weekend and are always a good footballing team.
“It is a very tough group, but they will want to go as far as they possibly can.
“For a club the size of Rangers, that is always the goal. You want to set out to win things, but there is an element of realism there. The players will be craving it too. Home crowds on these European nights – there is nothing like it.”
OPINION
Miller is right – it is admirable that Rangers have got where they are in the Europa League, especially as they went out at the first hurdle last term. This solidifies the impact that Gerrard has already made on the club in his short spell, and as Miller points out, there is no reason why they cannot go to Villarreal and get a positive result. Villarreal will be a tough team to beat, but Gerrard has brought in some quality players this summer which may prove to be the difference this time around. He will obviously want to give the fans a longer run in Europe this season, and if they end up doing well, this will only improve his confidence of bridging the gap on Celtic next term. They will be facing some tough opponents in this competition, but that can only make them play better – and there is no doubt that Gerrard is relishing the prospect of a prolonged run in Europe.