Rangers’ 2008 schedule was a marathon effort but Nacho Novo still can’t believe Hampden chiefs forced his side into a frantic sprint down the final straight.
Walter Smith’s men were going for a domestic clean sweep as well as UEFA Cup glory after a lung-bursting season that eventually tallied up to 68 gruelling games.
But a campaign that promised so much ultimately fell agonisingly short as the Ibrox side were pipped to the line for the two biggest prizes on offer.
Smith’s European battlers had scraped their way through round after round to reach the final in Manchester, only to be outclassed by a Zenit St Petersburg side bossed by ex-Gers gaffer Dick Advocaat.
And there was more pain in store as their bid for the league title also ran out of steam after SPL chiefs forced Rangers to play four games, including the Scottish Cup final, in the space of eight days after a fixture backlog thrust the campaign run-in into chaos.
The hectic schedule took its toll on Smith’s weary squad as they dropped 10 points in the final seven league matches, allowing Celtic to canter to the title.
It’s a situation Gio van Bronckhorst ’s current group will be wary of as they prepare for their own campaign finale. There are also seven league dates to be played out as well as their Europa League quarter-finals against Braga.
But Novo hopes Hampden chiefs will show the modern-day team more leeway than was afforded to his side.
The Spanish ace told Record Sport : “It’s always hard when you’re playing in four competitions with so many games. Sometimes when you come back to the league after playing abroad, you can be a little bit tired.
“We dropped quite a lot of points in those last seven games but that’s how football is unfortunately.
“We had a great squad at that time and a great boss in Walter.
“The last few weeks were tough when we got to the final in Manchester. We asked to have some some days off so we could concentrate on the game.
“But they didn’t and then made us play four games in eight days afterwards. That’s what hurts. We weren’t given any help.
“Of course that still annoys me. The Russian FA gave Zenit the full week off to prepare for the final and maybe that was the difference.
“I’m not saying we’d have won had we got the same or that maybe we’d have won the league if the season had been extended.
“But it would have helped us rather than having to squeeze so many games into one week.
“Rangers reaching the UEFA Cup final was an amazing thing for Scottish football and would have been really important for the European spots and the coefficient.
“But what they did was not right. That’s in the past and there’s nothing that we can change now.”
Despite spilling so many points 14 years ago, Rangers were still in with a sniff of glory as they travelled to Pittodrie for their final game of the season.
But there was to be no fairytale ending as a 2-0 defeat by Aberdeen sealed their fate.
Novo said: “We always believed that we could win the league.
“We needed a win at Pittodrie on the final day to have any chance but it was a tough one.
“I got sent off which made it an even worse day as Aberdeen beat us.
“When you play for Rangers, every game is a cup final. You always need to win, win, win – that’s the mentality, even if you were playing Real Madrid.
“But sometimes you’re going to feel a bit flat and it’s tough to reach the levels to get a result in every game.”
Van Bronckhorst’s side have suffered their own wobble this season, letting a six-point lead swing to a three-point deficit behind Ange Postecoglou ’s table-topping Hoops.
But Novo – whose spot-kick in Florence fired Gers to their last European final – reckons his old side are more than strong enough to continue their fight on three fronts as they also chase a first Scottish Cup since 2009.
And he said: “Rangers can definitely win the league and go all the way in Europe. They’re a very strong team.
“Obviously on Sunday against Dundee it was difficult for them after a big European game in Belgrade.
“But it doesn’t matter. Sometimes you play good, sometimes you play so-so.
“Winning is all that matters. This team under Gio is looking very good.
“They’re three points behind but Celtic need to come to our home next and I think that game will be vital to deciding who wins the title.
“My side, sometimes we were lucky and Allan McGregor would rescue us with some wonderful saves.
“I thought we had a great team too, we just had a different style.
“But this Rangers team right now is looking very good.
“Morelos is absolutely tremendous. This kid is just getting better every week. Ryan Kent has gone to another level too.
“They are not sitting back at all. They do not fear any team.
“The Dortmund game in Germany is one of the best performances I’ve ever seen. They were absolutely all over them.
“Braga will be difficult but as long as we play like that we have a chance.”
