Jamie Murphy is modest enough to admit he only played a minor role in Rangers’ long trek back to the European big time.
But the former Ibrox winger reckons Michael Beale’s new recruits can have a major say on Rangers’ prospects this term if they can find a way to reclaim the club’s seat at UEFA’s top table. Wednesday will be five years to the day since Murphy’s goal against Macedonian minnows Shkupi got them off and running on Steven Gerrard’s opening night as gaffer. It sent the Light Blues on their way to a 2-0 aggregate triumph but the importance of that opening Europa League qualifying strike has had longer-lasting consequences.
The Shkupi clash came 12 months on from Pedro Caixinha’s Progres Niederkorn disaster and a repeat of that catastrophic early exit would have denied Rangers desperately needed funds in their race to catch Celtic. It was Murphy who planted the first foot down on the road back from the wilderness and from there Gerrard’s new-look side swept past Osijek, Maribor and Ufa to reach the group stage, clinching a multi-million pound windfall that would eventually pave the way to title 55 as well as Seville. But with Celtic again surging ahead, both on the pitch and on the balance sheets, Murphy knows his old side can’t afford not to match the Hoops in banking a Champions League bonanza this summer.
