Jamie O’Hara stuns talkSPORT studio with ‘Massive’ Rangers claim live on air
Rangers punched well above their weight yet again in the Europa League this season.
The Gers endured a miserable domestic season but found some respite in Europe as they embarked on a strong Europa League run to the quarter-finals, but were eventually beaten by Athletic Bilbao.
Rangers faced both eventual finalists, Manchester United and Tottenham, in the league phase, drawing 1-1 with Spurs at Ibrox before losing 2-1 at Old Trafford in injury time.
Tottenham won the competition, but former Spurs midfielder Jamie O’Hara and former Celtic flop Carlton Cole have now argued about the quality of teams they faced.
O’Hara praises Rangers in Tottenham Europa League defence
Cole has now hit out at Tottenham, claiming that the teams they faced en route to Europa League victory, including Rangers under Philippe Clement, were not high-level, but O’Hara has leapt to their defence.
Speaking on talkSPORT (29 May), O’Hara claimed that Rangers are to be considered “European giants” and among the very biggest in the continent.
“Let’s talk about your competition. You had Roma and Rangers,” Cole told O’Hara.
| Club | Played | Position | Wins | Draws | Losses | Points |
| Rangers | 8 | 8th | 4 | 2 | 2 | 14 |
“Good team, Roma and Rangers are two massive European giants,” O’Hara responded about Rangers.
“Giants? You’re saying they’re European giants?” Cole responded in shock.
Rangers could have beaten Tottenham in Europa League
Although both Rangers and Spurs had dismal domestic campaigns, their meeting in December could have been won by the hosts at Ibrox.
Rangers were dominant as they took the lead through Hamza Igamane in the 47th minute, and could have gone on to win, if they put their chances away, with more shots than the away side.
However, Dejan Kulusevski went on to equalise, and the points were shared in Glasgow. This proved to be an invaluable one for Rangers, as they eventually advanced to the knockouts in eighth place, level on points with the three teams below them.
Had they lost at home to Spurs, Rangers would have had to go through the play-off rounds, and may not have advanced past the likes of Roma, Ajax and Real Sociedad, who finished below them.
Tottenham and Rangers could face each other again next season in the Champions League, but the Gers will have to navigate the play-off rounds to reach the league phase.