Claiming Rangers belong in Europa League is to assume this team are on level of Seville side but there’s NO evidence of that

There can’t be a Rangers fan on the planet who hasn’t watched Aaron Ramsey’s penalty for Cardiff against bitter rivals Swansea at the weekend and thought, ‘if only…’

If only the Welshman had shown the same composure in Seville when taking a spot kick in the shoot-out against Eintracht Frankfurt that would result in the heartache that only such a defeat can bring.

Ramsey failed to convert that night in Spain and on Thursday night a team from the same Spanish city will arrive at Ibrox intent on compounding a misery that has been building inexorably since May 18, 2022, when Gio van Bronckhorst’s team came so close. Real Betis might be sitting mid-table in the La Liga and were beaten 5-0 by Barcelona in the Nou Camp at the weekend but with the wily old fox Manuel Pellegrini in the away dugout, they represent a clear and present danger to Michael Beale’s future as Rangers manager.

The jury might be out on Beale but a defeat will see the judge adjusting his black cap if a repeat of the rout in Eindhoven comes to pass in Govan. And it might not even take a hammering. The court of public opinion could be swayed by any kind of defeat on the back of not only those damaging results against PSV and Celtic.

When Rangers lost 5-1 to PSV in the Netherlands, the narrative quickly changed. Before the credits started rolling on the TV broadcast, the likes of Ally McCoist and Alan Hutton were speaking about the Europa League being Rangers’ level rather than in the big boys’ playground of the Champions League might not be a bad thing.

And when you consider what Ajax, Liverpool and Napoli did to them last year, there’s more than a degree of truth in the latter assertion. But to claim that the Europa League is where Rangers belong, is to assume that this Light Blues team is at the level of the one that laid waste to the likes of Borussia Dortmund and RB Leipzig in the season they got to the final.

That’s the one with Ryan Kent and Alfredo Morelos wreaking havoc in the final third. Joe Aribo breaking from the middle of the park. Glen Kamara knitting it all together in the engine room. Calvin Bassey, a young colossus at the back.

All five have long gone. Are Rangers stronger now than when they were at Ibrox? Not a chance. And so far there is no evidence to suggest that the Europa League is, indeed, the current team’s level. Yes, Beale’s luck has been rotten at exactly the time when he needed some good fortune.

The loss of Todd Cantwell for a month or so is a real blow. The ex-Norwich man may split opinion but is there another Rangers player who tries to provide a spark, an injection of personality into the team? For me, too many of them play safe. Cantwell dares to be different and he will be missed, as will Danilo, who was looking good and scored a fine goal before suffering that horrendous facial injury in the process at McDiarmid Park on Saturday.

The Brazilian looks like he can come good for Rangers. But he won’t be around to prove in the short term, which is a hammer blow to the player himself as he adjusts to life in Scotland, and to his boss, who desperately needs a striker to start doing what they are paid to do.

That means the likes of Cyriel Dessers, Sam Lammers and Abdallah Sima have to step up to the plate and give the guy who brought them to the club – undoubtedly on hefty contracts in the first two instances, while Sima is on loan – a helping hand.

If they don’t, they might find themselves working under another manager who may well not be as loyal to them. That’s the harsh reality.