RANGERS’ disappointing domestic form is no impediment to them recording a vital victory in their final Europa League group game later this week and progressing to the knockout rounds of the competition, it was last night claimed.

Steven Gerrard’s side go into their meeting with Rapid Vienna in the Allianz Stadium on Thursday night after dropping five points in two Ladbrokes Premiership matches and being deposed as leaders by their city rivals Celtic.

The Ibrox club, who had moved into first place in the top flight table courtesy of a 2-1 triumph over Hearts at Tynecastle at the start of the month, were beaten 1-0 by Aberdeen at home last Wednesday night and were then held to a 1-1 draw by bottom-placed Dundee at Dens Park on Sunday.

Yet, the Glasgow club, who must win in Austria in order to progress to the last 32, have excelled on the continent in the past even when they have been struggling on the home front.

In the 2005/06 season they finished third in the league, were knocked out of the League Cup in the quarter-finals and only made it as far as the fourth round of the Scottish Cup.

However, Rangers still became the first Scottish club ever to progress to the knockout rounds of the Champions League after they drew 1-1 with their Italian rivals Inter Milan in their final group match in Govan.

Alex McLeish’s men, too, went into that encounter on the back of a dire run that had seen them draw with Inverness Caledonian Thistle, Livingston, Aberdeen and Falkirk and lose to Celtic and Hibernian.

Bob Malcolm played in midfield for his boyhood heroes that night and helped them progress to the last 16 where they were defeated by Spanish opponents Villarreal on away goals.

Malcolm, now assistant manager to his former Rangers team mate Barry Ferguson at ambitious Lowland League club Kelty Hearts, recalled how the unhappiness in the stands that term got so bad the players needed protection as they were leaving the stadium.

“I can remember us battering Falkirk in the match before the Inter game only for them to score two late goals,” he said. “Afterwards as we left the stadium the security guards had to use the metal barricades to create a path for us to get through the fans who were waiting outside to give us pelters.

“I don’t know why we struggled domestically and did well in Europe that season. When you play at an Old Firm club you are expected to win every game you play domestically.

“We didn’t have a great season. But that perhaps made us more determined to do well in Europe. It was a chance to give the supporters something to shout about. Obviously, that wasn’t the case when we played a team like Inter. It took the pressure off.

“I played in a few big games for Rangers in my time there, but that Inter match was up there with any of them. The Old Firm matches were always massive, but that match was special. The fans really got behind us and helped us get the result we were needing.

“That was a strong Inter team. They weren’t as strong as they might have been, but they still had 11 internationalists on the park. The gaffer came up with a game plan to sit in, frustrate them and try to hit them on the break through Peter Lovenkrands, who had a lot of pace, up front.

“Adriano scored in the first-half, but Peter equalised soon after. We competed with them well. In the second-half we actually took the game to them a bit more and had a few chances. We got the result we were looking for and it turned out to be a great night

“They had Adriano and Obafemi Martins playing up front that night. Fortunately for me I wasn’t playing at centre half, I was playing in midfield. Big Marvin Andrews was different class for us that night.”

Rangers also proved unable to compete with Celtic for domestic honours the following season after Paul Le Guen had taken over from McLeish as manager and they once more finished the campaign trophyless.

But they again acquitted themselves well further field. They beat Molde over two legs to qualify for the group stages of the UEFA Cup and then defeated Livorno away - the first and to date only time they have won on Italian soil - and Maccabi Haifa and Partisan Belgrade at home and drew with Auxerre away.

Malcolm, who went on to play for Derby County, Queens Park Rangers, Motherwell and Brisbane Roar after leaving Rangers, is unsurprised, then, that his old club have done so well in the Europa League despite struggling for consistency in the Premiership at times.

“I have seen a few of the Europa League games this season,” he said. “They have done superbly and I think they have a real chance to go through to the knockout rounds even though they hare going into the game after two bad results. It is a totally different challenge for them. It is just like a cup final for them.

“They are going to go for it. They know if they win they will be through to the next stage. Whatever has happened in the past week has gone. They can’t do anything about it now. They just need to focus on this game. They have got good results against Villarreal, Rapid and Spartak and can do so again.”

Gerrard made six changes to his team in Tayside at the weekend and Malcolm believes restoring certain key individuals to the Rangers starting line-up, not least suspended striker Alfredo Morelos, will help the Ibrox club get the win they require.

The Columbian was ordered off for a rash and needless challenge on Graeme Shinnie last Wednesday night and missed the Dundee game as a result of his petulance.

But Malcolm, feels the presence of a player who has netted no fewer than 17 goals for his old club this season - and has been on target 11 times in his last 15 games - in the front line is crucial to their prospects of success.

“I would imagine Gerrard will bring players back in,” he said. “Hopefully the ones he brings back in will do a job on Thursday. I hope Morelos makes a difference. He is a big player for Rangers, their top goalscorer. When he is on his A game he is a handful.

“Yes, at times he can sulk and struggle. But if he gets that out of his game he will be a top player in future. He is only a young kid. It is a steep learning curve for him at the moment. Steven and his coaching staff will be on his case. Hopefully he takes his advice on board.

“I was speaking to somebody the other day about him. I said: ‘He’s still learning his trade, he’s only a kid’. The guy said: ‘He’s not a kid! He’s 27!’ I told him: ‘He’s only 22!’ People forget that because he’s been playing at such a high level for a couple of years. They think he’s a mature striker.

“We are training tomorrow night, but it is an early kick-off so hopefully we will be able to catch some of it. The good thing is they have played them already at Ibrox so they know exactly what they are up against.

“It is just about matching their performance, not conceding any stupid goals and trying to score when the home team gets nervous as the game progresses. The Rangers fans will be there in numbers.”