Dave King: Rangers Champions League involvement purely to keep pace with Celtic
Rangers Champions League involvement is solely to maintain pace with Celtic on a domestic level and not to compete, according to Dave King.
The Gers face Liverpool in their third group stage fixture of Europe’s flagship competition on Tuesday (4 October) as Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s side look to keep their slim hopes of qualification alive.
After two defeats in their opening two matches, King isn’t concerned about what their fortunes in Europe will entail in the 2022/23 season.
“The importance of the Champions League each year is that, in a two-team league, what we can’t afford is Celtic having the Champions League and us not having it. I am less concerned about what it means for Rangers and Celtic relative to Europe,” said King (quoted by the Glasgow Evening Times, 2 October).
“In the domestic situation, we cannot afford to have Celtic getting Champions League money for the next three years and we’re not there. My concern is always the gap between us and Celtic because my priority is still about winning domestic titles.
“For me, the big relief this year of the Champions League was making sure that we continued to narrow the gap against Celtic. That’s the most significant thing for me.”
More ambition
The financial disparity between the Old Firm and the biggest hitters in Europe is there for all to see so it’s understandable to see King be open and honest in his assessment.
However, it does feel as if the former Ibrox is already admitting defeat for Rangers.
Van Bronckhorst’s side showed their ability to reach the latter stages of a European competition in the 2021/22 season, so there should’ve been a goal to be more competitive in their first Champions League involvement in 12 seasons.
In fact, against Napoli, Rangers were more than a match for the Serie A heavyweights before they were reduced to ten men and eventually suffered a 3-0 defeat at Ibrox. We have seen lesser teams compete in Europe before and there should be more ambition from the Gers to at least challenge for the knockout stages.
Considering this is their first involvement in the Champions League in a long time, going out as the group’s whipping boys would be a real shame. Getting something at Anfield on Tuesday is a must for the Gers to harbour any hopes of playing European football way past Christmas.
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