The former Ibrox captain reflected on his run to the 2008 UEFA Cup final and how it impacted their title challenge.
The truth is it hurts to be knocked out of European competition and especially when you’ve got so close to a place in the quarter finals. Deep down these Rangers players will feel they could have gone further in this season’s Europa League and that they had more than enough to beat Benfica at Ibrox on Thursday night, having drawn the first leg in Lisbon.
But let’s be realistic right now because it was only six months ago, when I saw Aberdeen turn Rangers over at Ibrox, that I wouldn’t have put a fiver on them beating Brechin, never mind Benfica. At that stage in the season I was genuinely worried that Rangers might not be good enough to finish second in the Premiership because the team was in a terrible state.
But it’s also one of the most painful memories of my time at the club - so painful I don’t even like thinking about it 16 years later. Ask any of the guys from that team and they’ll say the same thing. We had emptied our tank trying to get to that final and, on the night against Zenit St Petersburg, we didn’t have the legs left to put on a proper performance which is something I’ll always regret.
Of course it does. But the rest of the season has just been uncluttered by Thursday night’s defeat. There are no more distractions and nothing else left to focus on. I know. I’ve been there too. But, in my head, I’d be looking to run myself into the ground for an hour or so at Dens Park and then let someone else take over from the bench. Because all that matters is getting out of there with another league win. After that, the manager will give them some time off during the international break and that’s a chance for them to recharge the batteries and get ready for one final big push.
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