Danny Murphy tells Rangers fans why they should be happy with Dynamo Kyiv loss
Danny Murphy argued that Rangers missing out on Champions League qualification could be a “blessing” for the club and its supporters.
The Gers lost 2-0 to Dynamo Kyiv at Hampden Park on Tuesday (13 August) to crash out 3-1 on aggregate in the third-qualifying round.
Defeat means losing out on an instant £4million windfall [Scottish Daily Mail, 12 August], plus the chance of upwards of £50m if they had made it to the competition proper.
However, former Liverpool midfielder Murphy believes contesting in the Europa League could prove to be more than a silver lining.
“From a footballing perspective, yes [it’s a blessing],” he said on talkSPORT [14 August, 10:12am]. “They are trying to bridge the gap to Celtic.
“The opposition they’d come up against in the Champions League would be much more intense and it would destroy confidence as they’d lose more games.
“They can go far in the Europa League as they have before so it could be a blessing, even if fans would prefer to see them in the Champions League. Competing in that competition and competing with Celtic weekly in the league would have been difficult.”
Co-host Simon Jordan agreed, adding: “Rangers would have gone into the Champions League, like Celtic will, and it’ll be written about how they’re not winning games, how Scottish teams are not progressing. They’ve done themselves a favour.”
Rangers needed Champions League football
While there is some truth to these comments – the Gers have showed recently they have a realistic chance of going all the way in the Europa League – the club were desperate for the funds that Champions League football brings.
Celtic were already better off financially and that gulf will only now grow. This rebuild that is going on at Ibrox is not going to have much more financial backing as a result of this setback.
Rangers fans know exactly where the club is right now, in that they are not going to win the Champions League. However, making it to the league stage, as it is now known, would have lifted the mood massively.
Instead, it will be another season in UEFA’s secondary competition, and Clement’s men need to have a real good go at it. Before that gets up and running, though, first it is imperative the Gers keep pace with Celtic in the title race.
In other Rangers news, Jim White was left astonished by a Clement sack claim made live on air.
For more Rangers news, follow us on Facebook or join our brand new WhatsApp Channel for instant updates to be sent straight to your phone.