OPINION
Rangers assistant manager Gary McAllister is exactly right when he describes Rangers’ league campaign as “up and down”.
Speaking to the Daily Record, McAllister was summing up the Gers’ campaign and reflected on the different competitions the club had played a part in.
“I have loved every minute of my first season, it has been very exciting. We started early in Europe and our run was superb,” the assistant manager said.
“In terms of home games in the Europa League, Ibrox is as good as anywhere under the lights. The games against Villarreal, Rapid Vienna and Spartak Moscow were stunning.
“League wise it was a wee bit up and down but over the piece you could say we have done pretty well. There were moments when if we had got the right results we could have pushed it and got involved in a title race but that wasn’t to be. The cups were disappointing.”
And McAllister is exactly right. Himself and Gerrard came in for their full season in charge and did well to get the Rangers fans inspired early on, with progression past Shkupi, Osijek, Maribor and FC Ufa into the Europa League group stages.
But when the Scottish Premiership season started, it wasn’t the best of starts which put a dampener on the Rangers progression seen a couple of weeks before.
The Gers drew two of their opening three matches – to Motherwell and Aberdeen respectively – before losing 1-0 to Celtic at Parkhead, which is always going to be one result which drags the mood around Ibrox down.
Rangers then faced a tough period with the Europa League group stages being mixed in with their league priorities, and it became clear that the club were prioritising their Premiership push.
Three wins from four were followed by a draw and one win in the Europa League, with Rangers eventually failing to progress any further in Europe.
Skip into the New Year, and Rangers went unbeaten in the league for over two months, in a string of results stretching from January 23 to March 31, when Celtic ended that run.
But overall, one shining light to come out of Rangers’ season – and one that should not be forgotten – is the fact that the club have beaten Celtic twice on home soil this season.
That is a massive statement from Gerrard and McAllister and one which they must take into next season with confidence, knowing that Ibros can become a fortress in such big games.