Peter Lynch

Fri 18 August 2023 12:10, UK

Rangers have endured an underwhelming start to the new season, with manager Michael Beale really up against it from the get-go.

The Gers kicked their Scottish Premiership campaign off with a 1-0 loss to Kilmarnock, but did manage to bounce back with a 4-0 thrashing of Livingston.

Amidst that, the Ibrox outfit have progressed to the Champions League play-off round after defeating Swiss side Servette 3-2 on aggregate.

Beale will be pleased to have made it through that tie, but the boss would have perhaps liked the two legs to be much smoother for his side.

Nonetheless, a clash has been set up with Dutch giants PSV for the next round, with the Champions League group stages awaiting the winner of the two-legged tie.

That will be a hugely difficult task, but the Gers can have no excuses going into the tie given how kind the schedule has been to them.

Beale can afford to rest his entire starting XI for PSV when his club take on Greenock Morton in the Scottish League Cup on Saturday (19 August).

The Dutch outfit then come to Ibrox on Tuesday (22 August), with Rangers travelling for their away trip just over a week later (30 August).

In between the huge European ties, the Gers visit Ross County in Scottish Premiership action, with that opponent hardly striking fear into Beale given how they finished second from bottom of the table last season.

Rangers could have been handed a grudge match with fierce rivals Celtic in that time, but the scheduling gods have looked down favourably on the boys in blue, with the two giants first meeting this season immediately after the Champions League second leg match.

Beale’s men have even been handed a small boost by PSV’s schedule, with the Eredivisie side playing several hours later than the Gers when they take on Vitesse on Saturday.

In other Rangers news, Chris Sutton has shared a Gers transfer verdict after their Scottish Premiership “eye-opener.”