RANGERS’ fate as they stumble into the final weeks of the season looking to clinch a European place is not a new one. The first half of the 1980s prior to Graeme Souness’ arrival and subsequent revolution was a similarly fraught period as nine seasons came and went without the league trophy returning to Ibrox.

It took a final-day home victory over Motherwell for Rangers to secure fifth place in 1985/86 and with it a berth in the following season’s UEFA Cup. They had been winless in their previous six matches and ended up finishing 15 points behind eventual champions Celtic, in an era when it was still only two points for a win. Little wonder Souness’ arrival that year was celebrated around Ibrox as if it were the Second Coming of Christ himself.

For the first time since that era, Rangers have had to endure a campaign where they have had no realistic ambitions of lifting the title and no given right to be considered even the second or third best side in the country. Should results go against them over the coming weeks, they could yet find themselves having to avoid defeat to St Johnstone on the last day of the season to ensure a return to Europe for the first time in six years. Perhaps most galling for Rangers fans is the acknowledgement that the team they are watching every week isn’t any better than the ones around them in the table.

That, claims one former player, is where the comparisons with the side from the early 1980s fall down. When Rangers finished fifth 31 years ago, they did so behind Celtic, a Hearts team that had gone undefeated for most of the season only to lose the league on the final day, a Dundee United side who would reach a European final a year later, and an Aberdeen team that had gone one better and actually won a European trophy three years prior.

“Looking at this Rangers team and the one I played in is like comparing apples and oranges,” said defender Craig Paterson who spent four seasons at Ibrox. “At that time we not only had the threat of Celtic but also two terrific sides in Aberdeen and Dundee United who were winning titles and competing in European finals. So that was a problem for us that the current Rangers side isn’t having to face. But it is unusual seeing them back in the Premiership again but not really competing at the top. On that front the parallels are a bit more obvious.”

Souness’ arrival and the financial backing he was given revitalised Rangers and they would go on to win 10 of the next 11 league titles. There is little chance of such a transformation taking place at Ibrox this summer, with chairman Dave King unable or unlikely to make available the sort of funds that would be needed to even start to claw back Celtic’s supremacy.

“The question for Rangers now is: do you try to kick-start something or do you overhaul things completely?” added Paterson. “Because one can be done on a budget and the other one would take substantially more money. Rangers will always be compared to Celtic but I wouldn’t even like to put a figure on just how much it would take to close that gap. I don’t think anybody out there foresees that kind of money being forthcoming.

“What Rangers have got to do is keep the fans on board. They’re still getting 50,000 every second week at Ibrox in what has been a disappointing season as the supporters would have expected to see the team finishing closer to Celtic. And, based on budgets, they would also have thought Rangers would at least claim second spot and that’s probably not going to happen either.

“So I think the key thing for Rangers in the summer is to demonstrate to their fans that there is progress being made. I’m sure they will still renew their season tickets as they have done over the last few years when Rangers have needed them most. But they’ll be looking for good news to come out the club just to give them fresh hope going into the new campaign.”

Rather than focus their attentions on catching Celtic, Paterson feels Rangers’ first priority ought to be trying to ensure they can beat Aberdeen to second spot next year. At the moment, the Pittodrie side preside over a nine-point advantage.

“The gap between Rangers and Celtic is so vast that it makes more sense to look at Aberdeen as the more immediate target,” he added. “And that won’t be easy either as they have made great strides under Derek McInnes. He’s built a good squad there, one that has reached both cup finals this year. Overhauling them won’t be easy for Rangers but they have to at least try to show next year they can be the best of the rest.”