GLENN MIDDLETON is confident Rangers can build on their Europa League draw with Villarreal and challenge for a knock-out berth this season.
The Light Blues got their Group G campaign off to an impressive start in Spain last month as they twice came from behind to earn a point against the La Liga giants.
Now Steven Gerrard’s side will host Rapid Vienna in their second match tomorrow night aiming to continue their superb form on the continent.
Rangers had to progress through four qualifying ties against Shkupi, Osijek, Maribor and Ufa to reach the European group stages for the first time in seven years.
And winger Middleton, who made an impact off the bench at the Estadio de la Cerámica, has backed the Gers to go from strength to strength this term.
He told SportTimes: “We have set the standard now and we know what we are capable of after coming up against a team like that and getting a result. Hopefully it continues now.
“Everyone wants to qualify and, as a football club, Rangers are not there to make up the numbers, regardless of who we are playing. If we take it game by game, we will see where it takes us.
"It was just the start getting to the Groups. Obviously it was a long and tough qualifying run to get through but we did it. That is just the first step and now it is up to us to take on the next five games and see where it goes.”
Rangers have turned in some of their finest performances under boss Gerrard in European action this term and are still unbeaten in nine outings abroad.
But their form at home has been more unconvincing as a handful of points have been dropped in the opening weeks of the Premiership campaign.
The visit of Vienna is a chance to get back on track after losing to Livingston at the weekend and Middleton knows the home crowd will have their own part to play as group stage action returns to Govan.
He said: “Any European night at Ibrox is special and the fans will always help carry you over the line. I think, as a squad, we know what will be asked of us but we are capable of delivering.
“It has been a long time coming and I am sure everyone will enjoy it but, at the same time, we need to be professional and play the game and not the occasion and get the three points. The crowd have been massive this season.
“Even in the games where we have been winning 2-0 or 3-0, the fans are always pushing you to get the next goal and if you play a sloppy pass you certainly know about it. But that is the standards of Rangers, everything has to be the best you can.”
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here