Ianis Hagi confident ahead of PSV clash as Rangers are at Champions League ‘level’
Ianis Hagi has said that Rangers belong in the Champions League this season, despite their struggles in the competition last time out.
Last season saw the Gers knocked out of the Group Stage of the competition without earning a single point as they were part of a difficult group alongside Liverpool, Napoli and Ajax, but now they are only two games away from reaching the group stage again.
Despite that difficult experience last season, Hagi has said that the group that Beale has assembled at Ibrox still believe the Champions League is where they belong as they prepare for the first leg of the play-off against PSV on Tuesday (22 August).
Speaking to the Daily Record (21 August): the Romanian explained the morale of the team, saying: “I think the campaign we had in the Champions League last season was harsh because we had so many injuries. You go through some of the matchday squads and maybe 40 per cent of the players were academy players at some point.
“It was a really harsh one last season. I think our level is there. The talent we have in the dressing room, most of us got there and we know we can play at that level. I think that’s our level. But in football, you have to prove it on the pitch so that’s what we’re trying to do now.”
Do the talking on the pitch
The time has come for Rangers to do their talking on the pitch as although they may have the makings of a Champions League quality squad on paper, they haven’t proven in recent years in the competition that it is where they belong.
PSV are an opponent that they know well, having faced them in last year’s play-off round and if what Hagi says is true, Beale’s side should already have the confidence that they are more than capable of beating their opposition.
Hagi himself hasn’t been able to get consistent minutes recently, having played in the Viaplay Cup win over Morton, but for a player who has often been on the fringes of the first-team squad to show such confidence is an indicator of the belief that lies within this Rangers squad.
Hopefully, across the two legs, they can translate that belief into performances and show not only the Ibrox faithful but the rest of Europe why they should be taken seriously in Europe this season and make last year’s campaign a distant memory.
In other Rangers news, any potential big money transfer this summer may depend on Champions League success