How Uefa Decision made Rangers Humiliation worse.

Rangers have managed to turn their season around after a difficult opening to Derek McInnes’ reign, but one major failure from the summer continues to hang over the club.

Back-to-back Old Firm victories before the international break have transformed the mood around Ibrox, with Rangers now just two points behind Celtic after putting together a run of six straight wins.

However, that impressive response has not completely erased the concerns created by their poor start.

McInnes failed to win either of his opening two Premiership matches, but Rangers have since found a way to build momentum and put themselves back into the title picture.

The major blemish remains their failure to secure European football.

Rangers’ European setback under greater scrutiny

Rangers’ European campaign ended before they could even reach the Conference League proper.

Defeats against Jagiellonia Bialystok and Jablonec brought a disappointing end to their hopes of competing in UEFA competition this season, despite the club having multiple opportunities to progress.

Andrew Cavenagh and the 49ers have chosen not to make a knee-jerk managerial change as a result. McInnes has remained in charge and has since overseen a dramatic improvement in domestic form.

That response has helped ease some of the pressure, but the European disappointment cannot simply be ignored.

Rangers are one of Scotland’s biggest clubs and would have expected to at least reach the third tier of UEFA’s competition structure.

UEFA changes highlight the scale of Rangers’ miss

The situation has been placed under further scrutiny following comments from Telegraph journalist Luke Edwards about the wider state of Scottish football.

UEFA’s three-tier European competition system was designed to provide more clubs with opportunities to compete on the continent.

That makes Rangers’ absence from the Conference League particularly notable.

Edwards has argued that the expanded European structure highlights the scale of the failure for both Rangers and Scottish football, especially when clubs from countries with smaller footballing profiles have managed to progress further.

Bodø/Glimt’s rise in Norway provides one obvious comparison, with the Norwegian club continuing to make an impact in European competition despite operating in a league that does not possess the same financial resources or global profile as some of Europe’s bigger competitions.

For Rangers, the domestic recovery under McInnes has undoubtedly changed the atmosphere around the club.

Six consecutive victories and two Old Firm wins have given supporters plenty of reasons for optimism, while the Gers remain within touching distance of Celtic.

But European qualification was still a major objective, and the fact that Rangers failed to reach even the Conference League means that their impressive domestic revival has not completely removed one of the biggest disappointments of the campaign.