IF you stand still, you go backwards. After years of striding forward in European competition, Rangers have regressed at an alarming and unacceptable rate in a matter of weeks.
This was once a side and a squad that believed they could go toe-to-toe with anyone on the continent. More often than not, they did just that as Steven Gerrard instilled character and injected quality into a club that was still reeling from that night in Luxembourg.
Emerging through four qualifying rounds to reach the Europa League in his first season, an achievement that was completed thanks to that nerve-shredding, heart-racing triumph in Ufa, wasn't just a small step forward for Rangers. It was a giant leap, the foundation for Gerrard's reign and title 55 and the run to Seville would never have happened had it not been for events in deepest, darkest Russia.
