Joe McConnell
A summer of change, stadium problems and poor pre-season results: it has been a difficult few weeks for Rangers fans ahead of the new campaign.
Many experienced players left over the summer, new faces arrived and Philippe Clement admitted he had to face a “major reconstruction”.
Three defeats and a draw in four pre-season friendlies have failed to calm fans’ nerves ahead of the big kick-off.
Adding to this was frustration when the club announced that home games at the start of the season would be moved to Hampden Park due to a delay in work at Ibrox.
Despite all the problems, their run to the Champions League could kick-start the club’s season and much more. So why is qualification so important?
Feel-good factor
Cyriel Dessers scored with the last kick of the game as Rangers drew with Dynamo Kiev
Some have pegged Rangers as underdogs as they prepare to visit Dynamo Kyiv in their third qualifying round. The first leg followed a goalless draw in their first Premiership game at Hearts. However, when Cyriel Dessers scored with the final free kick against Kyiv, it sealed a deserved draw that could go down as a key moment in the club’s season.
Why? Because it seemed to give the players a real boost, as they secured a big result away from home. The goal wouldn’t have damaged Dessers’ confidence either. The striker continues to be questioned by some fans, but he followed that achievement with another goal at Hampden Park, as Rangers won their first game of the season, beating Motherwell 2-1 in the league.
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Watch highlights from Rangers’ win over Motherwell in the Scottish Premiership
Momentum and confidence are huge, especially when you’re playing every few days, so it should come as no surprise that Clement is hoping his players will continue to ride that wave as they welcome Dynamo Kyiv to Hampden on Tuesday. Should Rangers get over the line, that confidence will be further boosted and the players will know they are just 180 minutes away from the lucrative new league stage, should they beat RB Salzburg or FC Twente.
The crushing defeat by PSV in the play-offs last summer shows that it will not be an easy task, but perhaps reaching the Champions League is not as far away a dream as some thought just a few weeks ago.
Transfer enhancement
Vaclav Cerny, one of nine summer signings, scored on his first start for Rangers
Rangers have set their summer transfer budget based on qualifying for the Europa League. However, if they were to reach the Champions League, Clement would find himself with a lot more money to play with.
The club added nine players this summer with Robin Propper, Vaclav Cerny, Hamza Igamane, Jefte, Clinton Nsiala, Liam Kelly and Connor Barron. Meanwhile, Oscar Cortes, who returned on loan with an obligation to buy next summer, and Mohamed Diomande, who made his loan permanent, were also signed.
However, the manager will want to add more quality to his squad and if Rangers reach the new Champions League league stage, the club will earn at least £36m, almost three times as much as the Europa League groups will offer.
Should Rangers overcome Kiev and then RB Salzburg or FC Twente, Clement would only have a few days to strengthen his squad, as the second leg of the playoffs will be played on August 27 and the window closes on August 31.
However, Clement claims that a move to the Champions League would make a “huge difference” to his plans not only for this transfer window, but also for future transfer windows.
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Philippe Clement: Reaching the Champions League would give him ‘another budget’
“I think it can make things quicker,” Clement said when asked what reaching the Champions League could do for his transfer plans. “It’s not in the budget to go to the Champions League and that’s the best way. Some teams have done it in the past and had big financial problems because of that, so we can’t do it, clearly.
“Of course if you can go to the Champions League you will have another budget, the only thing is that it will be the last hours of the transfer market at that time. But it would be an important thing, maybe for now something, but for the future windows of the club.
“We do everything to be successful, but we know we have to look at all the teams that play there, there are many clubs with a bigger budget than ours, that’s the reality. But we will give it our all to qualify. Let’s focus first on the game in Kiev because we have to win that game.”
A dramatic turn of events in the title race?
Clement still has to beat Brendan Rodgers’ Celtic
Celtic are the team to catch in the Scottish Premiership this season. The champions look even better than last time out and Brendan Rodgers is still hoping to add players to his squad. However, things could get interesting if Rangers reach the Champions League.
The aforementioned confidence boost and extra transfer power could give Rangers a new look and one that could see them stay within reach of their rivals. If that is the case, the next challenge for Clement will be to beat Rodgers, something he has yet to do. The challenge of catching Celtic is tough but not necessarily insurmountable and Champions League qualification would certainly help Rangers.
Clement has a number of hurdles to overcome in leading his team. Kiev is the first, two more could follow and if Rangers can overcome all three to secure a Champions League spot, things could look a lot rosier than they have in recent weeks.
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