Some Rangers fans probably still haven’t recovered from the ignominy of seeing their side finish with the worst ever Champions League group stage record this season after a campaign that saw them end up with zero points and a few hammerings
But a new season always brings fresh hope and supporters will be starting to look ahead at what the European football might have to offer in 2023/24. They have a new manager for a start in Michael Beale although for all Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s time in charge at Ibrox did have a disappointing end, the Dutchman did at least manage to lead them into the Champions League group stage to earn a £30 million payday and that came just a couple of months after reaching the Europa League final.
So Michael Beale does face that daunting early season challenge of trying to negotiate the qualifiers. The Champions League final takes place at Wembley next season but it’s unlikely Rangers fans will be planning for that. But it doesn’t mean they can’t at least try and compete with the big guns in the group stage. Here Record Sport looks at some of the key dates on the UEFA calendar for fans to look out for.
Third qualifying round draw
July 24 is the date for fans to circle in their calendars as the all-important draw takes place at the House of European Football in Nyon for the first stage Rangers will enter the competition. Potential opponents, as things stand, for the Light Blues in this one are Union Saint-Gilloise, who they faced last season, Servette, Dnipro, Panathinaikos or Sturm Graz. The ties will be played on the midweek of August 8/9 with the return on August 15.
Play off draw
Assuming Rangers can negotiate the third qualifier then they will stand just 180 minutes from the promised land. The draw for that will take place on August 7 so, like last season, they would know their opponents before they have even kicked off their third round qualifier. The play off games take place on August 22/23 with the return legs seven days later on August 29/30. They played PSV Eindhoven at this stage last season and the Dutch outfit could be a possibility again along with Marseille and Serbian side FK TSC Backa.
Champions League group stage
This is where Rangers want to be - joining rivals Celtic alongside the cream of the continent. The date for this is August 31 with the first matchday taking place in September 19/20.
And the major boost for Rangers here is that if they managed to get into the hat then they would be seeded ABOVE Celtic thanks to their co-efficient ranking.
Europa League
Finally, if Rangers fail at either of their two qualifying rounds then the good news is that they will drop into UEFA’s second tier competition. The draw for the group stage takes place on September 1 and the first matchday is September 21. The final takes place in Dublin's Aviva Stadium next season.
