Steven Whittaker believes Rangers’ involvement in the Europa League could help them as they aim to topple Celtic in the Scottish Premiership title race.
The Govan side are into the last 16 of the competition after topping their group and given their success in the tournament in recent seasons, Philippe Clement’s side will have confidence heading into the knockout stage.
Rangers will be competing in the Scottish Premiership, Scottish Cup and Europa League when football returns after the winter break and that is in comparison to Celtic who crashed out of the Champions League before Christmas.
Many have questioned whether extra matches will be a help or a hindrance to Clement and his players, but former Ibrox full-back Whittaker believes European involvement is a huge positive.
He explained: “The European games take care of themselves. The fans love it, the players love it.
“You’ll find a lot of players are at the top of their game because of the occasion. So Rangers players will love those games when they come along.
“I expect them to be motivated and put in a high level of performance going into them.
“The progression they’ve had in the tournament in the last couple of years will give them confidence, they’ve done well in it. But it also shows them the levels they need to try and hit week in, week out.
“That’s always the ask of a Rangers player no matter what - can you reach that every time so you can blow teams away and that’s what the manager will be asking.
“You want to play as many games as you can. Games are not the issue. They get looked after between games and those players will want to be playing games. So extra games don’t come into it.”
Whittaker has been hugely impressed by the impact of Clement since he took over as Rangers manager from Michael Beale. The Belgian was unbeaten up until the last Old Firm showdown of 2023 and there appears to have been a shift in mindset amongst the Gers squad under his management.
“He seems to have got a tune out of the players,” said Whittaker. “They are right there challenging at the top of the league and if they keep that form up then who knows?
“The Old Firm is obviously one of the games you want to win and it never quite went their way.
“But the run of form going into that game was very good and they’ll just want to pick up again where they left off and see where it takes them.
“It’s about not forgetting the good work they had done up to that point. You’ve got to let that Old Firm game go and move on to the next one. They did that against Kilmarnock and being a Rangers player that’s what it’s all about; the next game, three points, then the next game, three points.
“It’s about not letting standards slide and keeping on Celtic’s tails to put them under pressure.”
A big part of Rangers’ success in recent times has been through youngster Ross McCausland who broke through under interim boss Steven Davis before retaining his position under Clement.
Whittaker is a huge fan and he hopes the winger continues to produce the goods for his boyhood club. He continued: “I give credit to Ross for coming in and taking his chance. Sometimes that chance only comes along once and he has grabbed the jersey. He is there on merit.
“He has earned it and it’s good to see him adding goals to his game. It’s now about keeping hold of that jersey and the only way to do that is keep the performance levels high.
“But it’s great to see him signing a new deal and hopefully he will be in and around the team for many years to come.”
Captain James Tavernier has also been a consistent performer this term, but he still has his critics defensively.
Whittaker, as a former right-back himself, simply cannot get his head around the numbers that Tavernier has produced during his time at the club.
He said: “I’m not sure what other right backs are there pushing him at the minute but Tavernier keeps coming up with the goods anyway.
“His form has been good. He came up with another big moment in the Old Firm last week as he looked to get his side back in the game.
“That’s him, he’s the leader of that team.
“What is he on now? Sixteen goals this season. And the team are going well at the minute so he will be looking to stay focused and keep the performances where they are.
“He’s been over the course domestically and in Europe and he is so important to the team.”
Ryan Jack has struggled to break into the Rangers team in recent times due to injuries and his contract is up in the summer.
Jack had confirmed that negotiations were underway, but it remains to be seen if the club will look to extend his current contract.
For Whittaker, Jack’s experience is something that the Rangers squad could do with. He added: “Ryan has done well over the years. He is a really consistent player and maybe injuries have set him back a little bit but the club will determine whether he has a role to play round about that.
“It’s always nice to have people who know the club and understand what’s expected.”
