Alex McLeish says European adventure ‘relief’ for Rangers amid poor domestic run

Alex McLeish believes European football may bring relief amid domestic toil for Rangers as they get set to take on Athletic Bilbao in the second leg of their Europa League quarter-final in Spain on Thursday night.

Barry Ferguson’s side held the highly-rated visitors to a goalless draw in the first game at Ibrox after playing most of the night with 10 men after defender Robin Propper was sent off after just 13 minutes.

The Govan men have turned in a series of impressive performances in Europe this season, including a win over Jose Mourinho’s Fenerbahce in a penalty shoot-out in the last 16, but once again they will end the season in Scotland trophy-less with Old Firm rivals Celtic aiming for the treble.

McLeish managed Rangers between 2001 and 2006, winning a treble among seven trophies, and took the Gers to the last 16 of the Champions League.

Promoting Premier Sports’ live coverage of this weekend’s Scottish Gas Scottish Cup semi-finals, he considered the current Rangers side and said: “The European competition has been incredible. Beating Jose Mourinho and putting one on him, that was exceptional.

“And now doing what the team did last week (against Bilbao), it just shows what they have in their lockers, but they’ve not quite been doing that domestically.

“I don’t know if maybe it seems like a relief for some of the players when they go into Europe and they seem to express themselves a bit more than they have done in the domestic league. But I guess when you look at the European games, they’re wide open.

“I think there’s an element of that (underdog) as well. There’s definitely psychology involved in it.

“It’ll be a cauldron. Athletic will be smarting. I think they’ve been criticised by the Spanish press – they say it wasn’t a great performance.

“But Rangers nullified their strengths and they have to go and do that in Bilbao. I think it will be all guns blazing from Athletic.”

Ferguson, installed in the hot seat until the end of the season when Phillipe Clement left in January, was Gers captain at Rangers under McLeish and also played for him at Birmingham.

McLeish “absolutely” recognised the qualities then in the demanding midfielder that would serve him well in management at Ibrox, where he has been joined by other ex-Gers players Billy Dodds, Neil McCann and Allan McGregor.

With a nod to the late Rangers manager Walter Smith, he said: “I think any manager, if they’re at a level that Barry played at, and certainly if you get the right players, if you get the right deck of cards, you’ve got a good chance.

“Barry’s transformed the guys a little bit from a level that clearly wasn’t at Rangers level.

“The thing is, you’ve got to win everything. If you’re a Rangers player, you’ve got to win domestically every week.

“That’s the demand and Barry knows that. He knows that as being an outstanding footballer.

“His whole career with Rangers and then working with him at Birmingham for a wee while, he wants those standards.”