Rangers are now certain to end the Scottish Premiership campaign trophyless after bowing out of the Europa League on Thursday night, with all eyes now turning to the summer window and how Barry Ferguson‘s side can rebuild.
Rangers out of Europa League after defeat to Athletic Bilbao
The Gers battled for every inch of grass against Bilbao during their blockbuster quarter-final second leg in Spain, but the hosts and star young winger Nico Williams’ quality eventually proved too much for them.
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He’s been linked with a move to Glasgow.
One of Europe’s most in-demand young forwards was a nightmare to deal with, and sealed Bilbao’s place in the semi-finals with a late header at Ferguson’s expense – ending the 90 as deserved winners overall.
There are many pundits and supporters alike who are convinced Rangers should’ve been awarded two penalties, one for the glaring shirt pull on Cyriel Dessers, and another for handball inside the box. It’s hard to argue against their case, particularly for Dessers, so the game wasn’t without its controversy.
While they couldn’t quite get past Bilbao on the night, there were promising signs from Ferguson’s men, who fashioned chances of their own against very tough opposition in the La Liga heavyweights, but didn’t quite have the ruthlessness to finish them off.
“The work-rate was there, but the quality at times wasn’t, and I spoke about that to the players after the game,” said Ferguson on Rangers’ defeat to Bilbao.
“They understand that as well. It’s going to hurt, this one, but we need to go away and reflect a bit. That’s not just the players but myself too. Then we need to come on Monday morning and finish the season as strongly as possible. They’re disappointed because they know the qualities we’ve got.
“They worked hard enough and that’s never been in doubt since I’ve come through the door. It’s just that quality in the middle third, and final third that we just didn’t quite get right. I want them to hurt because I’m hurting. We’re all disappointed but we have five games not and we need 15 points.”
Rangers players tipped to leave as part of Ibrox overhaul
With the summer window looming, Rangers must now regroup and prepare for next campaign, where they will be looking to knock Old Firm rivals Celtic off their perch.
BBC journalist Tom English, speaking to Sportsround on Thursday night after the defeat to Bilbao (via Ibrox News), suggested that out-of-contract trio Tom Lawrence, Ianis Hagi and Neraysho Kasanwirjo – who all carry a market value worth of a combined £5 million according to Transfermarkt – could be in line for Ibrox exits, alongside Leon Balogun.
“Tom Lawrence is out of contract,” he said. “[Ianis] Hagi is out of contract, [Neraysho] Kasanwirjo, [Leon] Balogun, so they can maybe do something there, but they need to get rid of more, and they need to bring in more.”
However, before any new arrivals come in, the club must make a decision on whether to hand Ferguson the full-time manager role or employ another name for the hot seat. According to recent reports, Steven Gerrard is among the managerial names in contention for the Rangers job.
