Rangers' rinse and repeat - but now not be good time to break new ground

Rinse and repeat on the pitch means the same for the poor scribes tasked with covering such erratic behaviour. Rangers continued their stuttering form and performance levels in the Premiership with Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Dundee, which already leaves them four points behind defending champions Celtic and an upwardly mobile Hearts.

The boos and jeers that rang around Ibrox after facing Scottish opposition are becoming more and more common. Only a few days previously, Rangers had played some gorgeous football as they dismantled Viktoria Plzen 3-0 at home in the first leg of their Champions League third qualifying round, on the back of a limp, ham-fisted display in a 1-1 draw at Motherwell.

The second leg of their European tie takes place on Tuesday evening at the Doosan Arena in Plzen. Most observers don’t see a way back for the Czech side, who looked one of the most limited Champions League visitors to Scotland for some time. They have played three home games already this season, losing 1-0 to Servette and drawing 1-1 with Jablonec and Slovacko. Plzen were left bereft after losing star midfielder Pavel Sulc on the eve of the Ibrox leg and head coach Miroslav Koubek wore a resigned look afterwards.

Rangers certainly had it tougher in the last round against Panathinaikos. Russell Martin’s men took a two-goal cushion to Athens despite relying heavily on goalkeeper Jack Butland and saw out the tie 3-1 on aggregate. The Greeks created plenty of chances but could only take one. Plzen didn’t even show invention on their sojourn to Glasgow.

Perhaps it will be different at the home of pilsner beer and the birthplace of car manufacturer Skoda. This will be their 43rd match in UEFA competition and recently they have made an impact in both the Conference League (quarter-finals in 2023/24) and Europa League (last 16 in 2024/25). The Czechs overcame Hearts in the play-off round last year 2-0 on aggregate, although they looked more functional than flamboyant.

This could be a night for Gassama once again

The latter trait will be required in an attacking sense to overcome a three-goal margin, which will suit Rangers, a side that fares much better against offensive, expansive opponents. The pace of Djeidi Gassama, with four strikes already to his name in the Champions League, and new signing Oliver Antman on the flanks caused major issues for Plzen a week ago. Given more space to run into, they could really hurt the hosts.

Rangers’ feelgood factor of that first leg evaporated on Saturday. One step forward, two steps back for a fanbase struggling to stomach such toils. They lacked energy and vision against Dundee, and gave away too many chances against a team also trying to find its way under a new manager in Steven Pressley. The only crumb of comfort is that even when down to ten men following Nasser Djiga’s red card, Rangers found a way to rescue a draw.

Resilience hasn’t been a problem recently for them in Europe. The core of this squad has recently gone to places such as Istanbul, Nice, Athens (twice) and Malmo and got the job done. If reverting to type, Rangers will do the same again and set up a play-off tie with either Club Brugge or Salzburg.

Deviate from the norm, however, and Martin will be in a world of pain. Rangers have never lost a two-legged European tie when holding a three-goal advantage from the first match. Now would not be a good time to break new ground.