As you can imagine, Rangers fans aren’t actually too annoyed about their campaign starting so early. Indeed, with Steven Gerrard now at the Ibrox helm, Light Blues fans everywhere must be buzzing with excitement about seeing how their side develops under his watch.
Tonight, the Gers travel to Macedonia for their second-leg tie against FK Shkupi, taking a 2-0 lead into the fixture. Jamie Murphy and James Tavernier gave the Glasgow side a fairly comfortable lead, though there is certainly scope for improvement ahead of the domestic campaign.
Indeed, that goes for things on the pitch, as well as off of it. Gerrard has overseen a busy rebuild of the playing squad, though you wouldn’t bet against that continuing, considering the state of the team last season.
So with that in mind, here’s a look at two players who seriously need to impress tonight as Rangers look to book safe passage into the next round of the Europa League.
Despite scoring from the spot last time out, James Tavernier needs to prove he’s vital in this incarnation of a Rangers machine. Clearly, the full-back has given a lot to the club over the years, though has been linked with moves away from Glasgow in recent weeks, so there’s certainly potential for him to leave.
A big performance would show Gerrard he cannot afford to sell the marauding full-back as he looks to topple Celtic, as well make progress in Europe.
Glenn Middleton may not be at risk of being sold or anything like that but a strong performance here could certainly propel him into Gerrard’s thinking. Clearly, the 18-year-old is a big talent and someone to consider for the future, though breaking through during these type of fixtures could have him push for a starting berth when the domestic season starts.
With Rangers looking in control of the tie, unleashing Middleton could be a very wise idea indeed.
