We’re only just leaving the month of June and already Rangers have hosted a close to sold-out European fixture. While the fans invested their time in the team on Thursday night, they weren’t exactly rewarded with a blistering performance.
Struggling to 1-0 win over Luxembourg side Progres Niederkorn, they now face a very tricky away trip on the continent as early as next Tuesday.
With a number of new players making their debut, the showing on Thursday night was surprisingly reminiscent of last season with Rangers having the vast majority of possession but just unable to really tear their visitors apart in the way supporters were hoping for.
There were some positives to take and the win will be hugely important in the second leg, but Pedro Caixinha’s really should have won the match by more goals.
What do they need to do to avoid an early European exit then?
Follow these THREE steps and the Light Blues will be in the next round…
Stop relying on Martyn Waghorn
On a night when five Rangers players made their competitive debut for the club, it was a reliance on some Mark Warburton acquisitions that generally saw the performance fall flat.
Martyn Waghorn was ineffectual for the majority of his time on the pitch, eventually being hooked in the 77th minute for Alfredo Morelos. Playing Waghorn again in Luxumbourg on Tuesday would be a big mistake. He may have been the Light Blues’ top scorer last season but we can’t see him having much of a future at the club.
Fans have mostly lost patience with him and with the likes of Morelos able to come in and offer supporters a bit of hope, he should spend the next few matches on the bench.
Jason Holt was another who underperformed on the night. Replace these two with some of his summer buys and Rangers should have enough about them to see through the tie next week.
Stick Eduardo Herrera through the middle
Rangers’ play often felt one-dimensional in the final third and while they found good width and plenty of opportunities to cross the ball into the box, they didn’t really have a target for wide-men to aim at and no-one to get onto the end of crosses that were effective.
Eduardo Herrera was registered for these ties for a reason before he was officially unveiled and it was to give Rangers a different option should they need it in the final third.
At 6ft 2in tall, he has the physical presence to change the make-up of Rangers’ play in the final third and could be an excellent option playing through the middle to support quicker players running off him or for the full-backs to deliver balls into the box for.
With nine goals in the Copa Libertadores and CONCACAF Champions League, he has a bit of continental pedigree already in his career and will at the very least change things up on Tuesday night.
Offer more options to Niko Krancjar
One of the undoubted positives of Thursday night’s match was the return of Niko Kranjcar to the fold. The Croatian veteran was a sparkling for the majority of his time on the pitch, at the heart of everything the Light Blues were doing well.
His set-pieces were mostly a danger and it was through him that Kenny Miller found the chance to net the vital goal that gives them a 1-0 aggregate lead.
With the ball at his feet he looked capable of unlocking the Progres defence but there weren’t many willing runners in behind the defence for him to try and pick out.
Perhaps player Alfredo Morelos out wide would be the perfect outlet for Kranjcar to deliver a key pass or two and really punish the opposition. There’s also the option of starting Jordan Rossiter in support of him, a player who isn’t afraid to commit himself into the final third.