Rangers' trump card is now their big concern: an 18y/o may be surprise pick in Barry Ferguson's masterplan

Such has been their form in this tournament, Rangers are now at the quarter-final stage of Europe's second-tier event. The list of opponents this season is impressive: Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur, Lyon, Olympiacos, Steaua Bucharest, Malmo, Nice, Union Saint-Gilloise and Fenerbahce. Some battles have been lost along the way but they still remain in war.

A proper foe stands on the horizon over the next week. Spanish side Athletic Bilbao, currently fourth in LaLiga, are a step up from the last round when Jose Mourinho's Fenerbahce were toppled on penalties. Rangers' caretaker manager Barry Ferguson left those in his pre-match press conference in little doubt of the task facing his team.

"I would probably say they're the favourites for the competition," was Ferguson's assessment of Bilbao. "So we know it's a tough ask for us. I think they've got real quality in their team. When you go and you watch this team, they've got a very British style about them. They can go and play out to the back, but also they're not scared to go long. So we need to be ready for all aspects of that."

The Basque outfit have a cause to fight for too, as the final is due to be played at their San Mames home at the end of May. They have one of European football's most prized wide forwards in Spain internationalist Nico Williams, who lit up the Euros last summer. A club that pulls all of its players from its small region, they are unique and know the prize at stake.

Ernesto Valverde has got a tune out of Lehoiak - The Lions - since returning from Barcelona. Tellingly, Mourinho was asked how he reckoned Rangers would do against Bibao after losing to Fenerbahce, given that the Turks played them in the league phase. He tried to be magnanimous but insinuated that Ferguson's men have little chance.

Rangers’ rotten home form

And on paper, why should they? The man holding the fort ahead of a summer of immense change has yet to win a home match amid five straight defeats at Ibrox - including Queen's Park, St Mirren, Motherwell and Hibs. He is without two influential players in centre-half John Souttar and midfielder Mohamed Diomande, both banned. His team was so poor last weekend when losing 2-0 to Hibs that Ferguson filleted all of them, promising sweeping changes for the visit of Bilbao. Rangers continue to ship an alarming number of goals: 18 in their past ten matches.

However, the Europa League has been Rangers' sanctuary, where they breathe easier than the suffocating environment of domestic football. Goalkeeper Jack Butland perhaps embodies that more than any player, the hero when saving penalties against Fenerbahce, only to bungle in recent domestic matches. When Ferguson vowed to shuffle the pack, one wondered whether the 31-year-old may be replaced by deputy Liam Kelly. It is a big call for Ferguson. He was giving little away in his pre-match duties, other than he will carry the can

Leon Balogun is set to come in for the suspended Souttar and his pace will be vital against Bilbao's lively front line. Replacing Diomande is harder - there are no obvious candidates to deputise. Could 18-year-old Bailey Rice, who is set to return from injury, be given a huge chance in the engine room?

The role of Rangers fans

What may concern Ferguson's thoughts more is Rangers' alarming dip in form at Ibrox. They last won in Govan back in February against Ross County and they are on their worst run of home results in the club's history. Against Hibs, there was a mass exodus of supporters and Ferguson is acutely aware of the delicate situation with his public and a stadium that for so long was their trump card.

"I've no fear in terms of them coming and supporting us at the start of the game," said Ferguson. "But we have to dictate to the stands. We need to go and give a performance. And if we do that, then the fans will get right behind us.

"That was tough, standing in the touchlines, watching the place empty. I can't be having that. My players can't be having that. That's a sore one to take. And that's been in the back of my mind since Saturday. So I'll go back to what I said - myself, my staff and the players, we're the only ones that can affect that now going forward."

Balogun, one of Rangers' most experienced players, was asked if there is a problem for this team playing at Ibrox. “You would have to ask each player individually," was his response. "Again, you look at performances here that we had in the past, and you might think it's hard to say that. You can't really put your finger on it.

“I think that overall we just lack consistency this season. I can't say it's down to the fact that it's Ibrox. I'd like not to think so, just based on my own experience here. Yes, I've been in some tough games, but overall it's a joy to be here, to play in front of 50,000, every single game. So I would like to think that this is not a problem, it's more a problem of consistency. It just makes it worse that it happens to be this season that at Ibrox we seem to struggle more than ever.”

Rangers need to just stay in the tie. Any sort of positive result to take to Spain next week permits them to put pressure on a Bilbao team whose public wholly expects them to progress. Many expect Rangers to find these waters too choppy for their flailing squad but there has been no logic to their European campaign - and bigger teams have perished at Ibrox. That is the hope Rangers fans will cling on to.