ON paper at least, Steven Gerrard’s Rangers team stands on the brink of history. Avoid defeat tonight against Spartak Moscow at Ibrox, and they will surpass the club record for consecutive games unbeaten in European competition.

They may already have equalled the run of 10 matches set by the famous Rangers side of 1992/93, who came within a whisker of reaching the Champions League final, but Gerrard isn’t fooled by those figures. In his mind, the class of 2018 don’t yet deserve to be mentioned in the same breath as those Ibrox legends.

“I wasn’t aware of that stat,” Gerrard said. “It’s news to me to be honest, which tells you that it’s certainly not my main focus. Milestones like that are always nice, but it’s not our focus.

“And listen, we’re not ready to be spoken about in the same breath as successful teams in the past. We are nowhere near ready to be put on a par with teams like that. We cannot be spoken about in the same breath as that. We have a long, long way to go.

“We are on the back of a nice run in Europe. We need to protect that and try and extend it for as long as possible.

“But in terms of putting us back alongside teams of ten years ago or 20 years ago then we’re not ready for that yet.”

He may have a point. Walter Smith’s side of the early 90’s were not only competing in the continent’s elite club competition, but were coming up against famous names like then champions of England Leeds United, Marseille and Club Brugges. The likes of FK Shkupi and FC Ufa are hardly comparable.

That is not to demean the achievements of this present-day Rangers outfit, but Gerrard highlights just how early it is in the development of his team when he describes them as underdogs going into tonight’s match on home soil.

Even so, he believes that the game is coming at the right time for his men, with the Russians having dispensed with the services of manager Massimo Carrera ahead of the game.

“This Spartak team in the next few weeks will improve,” he said. “They will have more confidence with getting a fresh start as a new manager, so we need to try and jump on them now when maybe they are not ready and set when they probably only had 48 hours to prepare for us.

“They are sitting seventh in their league, but I think it’s a false position. That said, if that’s where you are in the league and because of the size and stature of a club like Spartak then you know you are going to be under pressure.

“A club like Spartak, with so much Champions League experience, expect to be competing at the top of the league. In terms of us, it doesn’t change anything.

“For my money they are around the same level as Villarreal, I don’t think there’s much between all the teams to be honest.

“It’s a tight group, but we do expect a reaction in relation to their current form. When a new manager comes in you always get a reaction, an immediate one, but we will be ready for that.

“We are at home, we have a game-plan, and whether they have changed the manager or not, it doesn’t impact on what we want to do.

“We are underdogs on paper, but in our dressing room, we will go in with confidence and belief.”

Much of that will come from Rangers last Europa League outing when they swept aside Rapid Vienna in a late blitz at Ibrox.

“I was happy with every aspect of our last performance against Rapid,” said Gerrard. “That’s the type of performance I am looking for. We managed to get in front and we scored late on.

“We did so much work in the first half, matching their aggression and grinding them down. We got our rewards late on.”

One factor that Gerrard also believes to have been critical in the visible wilting of Rapid Vienna at Ibrox three weeks ago was the maelstrom they walked into as the old stadium shook to its foundations, and he is in no doubt that the supporters have a crucial part to play once again this evening if his men are to upset the odds.

“The atmosphere was excellent [against Rapid],” he said.

“All the talk afterwards was it was like the atmosphere of old. I don’t think Ibrox had been like that for a long time.

“I’d love nothing more than to see that atmosphere again tomorrow night, it’s a big lift for the players. It drives the team on. I felt it as a player myself, I know how much it pushes you on. We have to ignite it all though with our performance.

“I wouldn’t be standing here now as a Champions League winner without the atmosphere at Anfield, there’s no doubt about it. And another thing is that I wouldn’t be standing here doing this press conference if it wasn’t for the Ibrox crowd because they have certainly helped to get us where we are.

“If we have any ambitions of getting us out this group we need these fans to keep pushing us.”