Rangers have Old Firm reputation and ‘deliciously vulgar’ millions on line v PSV -Tom English
Rangers have their reputation within Glasgow to protect as well as glory and big money when they face off again against PSV, says Tom English.
After such an eye-catching and dramatic run to the Europa League final last season after missing out on the Champions League as SPFL winners via the same qualifying route, defeat in the Netherlands on Wednesday (24 August) would leave Celtic to draw all the attention in the top competition.
The Gers drew 2-2 at Ibrox on Tuesday to leave the tie finely balanced, but win next week and the rewards will be huge in terms of finances and prestige.
Writing in his BBC Sport column English says of the club’s recent continental reputation: “When it comes to Rangers in Europe everything is on a grand scale now.
“It’s epic and seemingly unending stuff.”
On the crucial second-leg he goes on: “They go to the Netherlands locked at 2-2 with PSV. Everybody knows the glory that’s at stake here, the feel-good factor of rubbing shoulders with the continent’s most monied [or debt-laden] outfits, the satisfaction of knowing their city rivals aren’t the only ones in Scotland hoovering up the international attention.
“There’s the reputational stuff at stake, but no assessment of Wednesday can be complete without a dive into the numbers which are, of course, deliciously vulgar for whoever wins this game.”
On the brink
The £13.2million immediately would be a welcome boost, as would the additional millions on offer for positive results in the group stage, and the TV money.
But above all there is a feeling that this club deserves to be back at the top table after the achievements in the past two seasons.
The league title may have gone back across the city last season, but a 55th crown, ending the Scottish Cup drought, and reaching a major European final has been a rollercoaster of emotions.
Within that time it seems that as soon as a route into the Champions League is the prize is where the Light Blues have fallen, be it at this stage last year when the league winner didn’t qualify automatically, via league position in the previous campaign once the rules were changed so they did, or as Europa League winners where it was only a penalty shootout between them and Eintracht Frankfurt.
Giovanni van Bronckhorst has to end that misfortune just as he did the barren spell in domestic cups, and get one over on his old teammate Ruud van Nistelrooy.
Fans are desperate to break through after knocking on the door repeatedly over the last year, and while it will be no easy task in Eindhoven it is certainly not out of their reach.
In other Rangers news, one talkSPORT pundit argued against the Old Firm being a rehabilitation centre for Premier League flops.