Graeme Souness believes Rangers are at a disadvantage in the UEFA Champions League
Graeme Souness believes the Rangers squad are playing at a disadvantage in the UEFA Champions League as other teams have a far larger budget.
It’s been a rocky start to the season for Giovanni van Bronckhorst and Wednesday’s clash against Napoli may spell the end for the Dutchman.
Souness admitted that Rangers did “brilliantly” to make it into this season’s competition but Van Bronckhorst now faces pressure due to the financial differences between them and the top teams in the tournament.
“Van Bronckhorst is under real pressure. The club is under pressure. They brilliantly qualified for the Champions League, but they are playing against teams with far larger budgets than them,” said Souness.
“They weren’t expected to be anywhere near the top of that group when they’ve got Liverpool and Napoli – and Napoli are the form team in Europe.
“But the pressure is on. I hate talking about managers being under pressure because I’ve been there myself and know how difficult a time it can be.”
True.
The UEFA Champions League was and will always be a struggle as long as Rangers suffer from the Scottish Premiership’s poor broadcasting deal.
This combined with Gers current dismal form is a recipe for disaster and it’s no wonder Souness thinks Rangers are at a disadvantage in the competition.
It’s all well and good qualifying for Europe’s most prestigious tournament but competing in it is a completely different ball game and one Rangers need to improve at.
Napoli on Wednesday evening could be another hide-behind-the-couch moment for fans of the light Blues, the Italians are in frightening form right now.
But qualifying for a tournament only to face humiliation seems like a pointless task altogether, maybe Rangers next manager should have some form of European pedigree.
Changing things up on this front would in turn bring more money into the club, money that isn’t doing much by winning domestic titles and trophies.
In other Rangers news, John Hartson has lashed out amid a “Shocking” recent controversy involving the Daily Record & Craig Moore.