NEWS ROUND-UP:RANGERS SUPPORTERS are not known for their modesty but the manner in which they swaggered through Lisbon airport in April suggested they might have overseen a conquest of Portugal.
Their team had, in fact, just defeated Sporting in progressing to the Uefa Cup semi-final. By the time Fiorentina had been overcome and a final in Manchester arrived, blue-clad followers were rather accustomed to this European lark. But less than four months on, they find themselves with a hangover that owes nothing to celebratory excesses.
Harsh realities have swiftly hit home. Rangers are out of Europe before kicking a ball on the domestic front and are facing a season without anything even approaching the minimum €12.7 million windfall that Champions League football bestows. Few single results have been more damaging in Scottish football history than Rangers' 2-1 defeat to FBK Kaunas on Tuesday.
"You could call it a disaster, but you could also say that the second-half display was a disgrace," Jim Templeton, of the Rangers Supporters Assembly, said of the showing in Lithuania. "Shock, horror, embarrassment - there's quite a few words you could use."
Templeton's sentiments were echoed by David Edgar of the Rangers Supporters Trust, who added: "The fans are more upset than I can remember. The fear is that players will be sold to balance the books, and the fans simply will not stand for it."
They may have to. With the chairman, David Murray, on record as saying income from the Champions League is necessary to ensure the club break even, drastic action will be required. Newcastle United, for example, will have been alerted to Tuesday's events, given their strong interest in the €11.3-rated centre-back Carlos Cuellar.
Walter Smith had made it privately clear, even before the exit from Europe, there were others he would readily remove from his wage bill, but interested parties in the likes of Daniel Cousin are not yet forthcoming. Quite what Madjid Bougherra thinks is anyone's guess, the erstwhile Charlton midfielder having moved to Ibrox rather than West Bromwich Albion a week ago apparently with the sole desire of playing European football.
"This is as low as you can be," admitted the veteran Christian Dailly. "We have no excuses and we know that it is sickening."
Smith's decision to start Dailly in both legs of the Kaunas tie in central midfield remains baffling, however, given Brahim Hemdani excelled in the role during Rangers' foreign exploits last season. The prolific Kris Boyd, afforded an aggregate of only 27 minutes against the Lithuanian side, also has cause to feel hard done by.
Celtic, meanwhile, can now count on Scotland's full quota of Champions League television money, €5.1 million, and can further widen the financial gap in Glasgow. Rangers have been set back years on account of a woeful display against the Baltic club.
Also likely to be affected is Scotland's European coefficient. Queen of the South or, as is more likely to be the case, Motherwell will have to make some meaningful impact in the Uefa Cup to maintain four-team representation in that tournament and the Champions League.
Rangers' worries are closer to home. A tricky Scottish Premier League opener at Falkirk is only two days away, with Smith acutely aware he must wrest the title from Celtic for the first time since 2005 or the discord over his performance will not be restricted to a vocal minority.
Guardian Service
