Bobby Russell was part of the last Rangers squad to lose four goals in two games on the bounce. That was 40 years ago against an Aberdeen side that would go on to conquer Europe 12 months later. John Greig’s team had to stew on that double Dons drubbing for an entire summer after their final league game of the 1981-82 season ended in a 4-0 Pittodrie thumping followed by a 4-1 Scottish Cup Final defeat after extra time.
But after a summer of soul-searching they bounced back by going 17 games unbeaten at the start of the next campaign. Russell reckons the current squad are lucky they only have to wait a matter of days for the chance to get their Old Firm and Amsterdam misery out their system.
And while some in light blue might be living in fear of another horror show when Napoli come to town Russell thinks the exact opposite. The 65-year-old is confident they can get a result and grab a foothold on a Champions League campaign threatening to slide off the chart before it’s barely begun.
Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s claim that Rangers can’t compete at that level was controversial and doesn’t wash with Russell, who insists club legend Greig would be reacting to two heavy defeats with actions rather than words. He said: “I didn’t see Gio van Bronckhorst’s comments but they seem a bit strange. Sometimes managers don’t quite get their message over the way they mean and I hope that’s the case here.
“I played under Greig and Jock Wallace and I can’t imagine them ever suggesting their teams couldn’t compete at any level. What would they have done? They’d have made changes. The other night the only change was Scott Wright in for Steven Davis.
“You’ve got two games where they have conceded eight goals so there’s got to be changes now. Where those changes come I’m not sure. I’ll leave that to the manager, I don’t get paid for those kind of decisions! But if you lose eight goals in two games then there has to be changes. Napoli at Ibrox is a great opportunity, that’s the only way to look at it.
“One thing’s for sure, there’ll be absolutely no hiding place for the players in that tie. These are the games you look forward to. This is what Rangers have been striving for in recent years. I know Napoli got that great result against Liverpool in Italy but if Rangers up their level and stop giving silly goals away then they can get a result in front of their own supporters. I truly believe that, then they can start to put the past week behind them.”
Russell needs a bit of reminding about the back-to-back Dons hosings in 1982. It’s not the type of memory the midfield maestro likes to bank but he’s right in that his part in the humblings was limited. Russell sat out the Pittodrie encounter to ensure he was fit for the final a week later. Even then the extra time defeat wasn’t quite the embarrassment GVB’s men have suffered in the last nine days.
He said: “I missed the first game at Pittodrie through injury but was back for the cup final and, to be honest, that was a marked improvement on the week before. On our day could beat anyone. We had Davie Cooper, Jim Bett, Sandy Jardine, real quality. We could compete with anyone at our best but we were inconsistent and lost silly games.
“It was a long summer but we knew we had to come back strongly and that’s exactly what we did. We went a lengthy spell unbeaten at the start of the next campaign, playing some great stuff. We won up at Pittodrie and beat Borussia Dortmund over two legs in the UEFA Cup before capitulating away to Cologne.
“We’d already beaten the Germans 2-1 at Ibrox and it could have been four or five. But then they hammered us 5-0 in the return. That’s what can happen in Europe. They were playing mind games ahead of the return. We went out to practice on their park the night before the game and they turned the floodlights off on us! I don’t think you’d get away with that now but Rangers can make it uncomfortable for Napoli – I’m sure of it.”
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