After waiting over a decade to return to the top table of European football, Rangers’ last taste of Champions League football proved to be a bruising and damaging experience.
Pitched into a group featuring Liverpool, Napoli and Ajax back in 2022, Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s side were ripped apart in brutal fashion.
Losing all six games, and with a goal difference of -20, Rangers would go on to be ranked as officially the worst ever team in the history of the Champions League group stage.
That was an ignominious tag for a team who, only a few months earlier, had reached a Europa League Final in Seville.
Moving up the levels did them no favours and it undoubtedly hastened the departure of Van Bronckhorst as manager as the European hangovers seeped into their domestic form.
As Russell Martin prepares for a crack at taking his new-look team into the Champions League, he does so as a manager still seeking to win over the doubters. In fact, that is probably putting it lightly.
An unpopular appointment amongst fans right from the outset, he is swimming against a growing tide of opinion that he probably won’t last long in Glasgow.
A scrappy victory over Alloa in the Premier Sports Cup on Saturday offered little evidence of progress, as did the nervy display away against Viktoria Plzen last week.
With Club Brugge likely to represent a significant step up in quality from anything Rangers have faced so far this season, the concern is that Rangers could take a serious beating against the Belgians.
If that were to transpire, the criticism of Martin on radio phone-ins and on social media, which is already widespread given we are still only in mid-August, would only intensify.
But the under-fire manager is determined to ride out the storm, insisting that all the pelters from punters are water off a duck’s back.
‘We’re excited about the opportunity we have,’ he said. ‘We’ve been here just under two months now and I’m more excited than ever, really. That hasn’t diminished one bit.
‘I think you have to roll with the punches here for sure, and I think early on, we understand we were going to have a bit of pain to go through.
‘We have to win while we’re going through some pain. So we’re into this round which is a huge opportunity to qualify for one of the best competitions in world football.
‘That’s incredibly exciting, and we have to attack it with everything we’ve got as a group, as a team, and I really believe we can do it.
‘I have a lot of people message me who read message boards and stuff who are concerned about me - and they just don’t have to be. So I keep telling my mum: “Don’t worry about it, it’s all good. I’m enjoying it”.
‘I appreciate the honour of managing this club every day and the gratitude I feel for that. So let’s have that in the building.
‘I said to the staff as well, so many of them support the club but I think they’ve lost a bit of joy of being here and working here. So let’s get back to that.
‘Let’s understand how big this is and how brilliant it could be, and focus on what we can control and that is playing with so much energy tomorrow and really feeding off it.
‘I really hope that we give the lads enough belief that we can do it. I know that tomorrow night the supporters will definitely do their bit for the team.
‘It could be a really brilliant night. It would be a massive achievement for all of us, but it’s not about me. It’s not about any individual player. It’s genuinely about what’s best for the club and how exciting that would be.’
Brugge are a quality outfit who were at Ibrox only a few weeks ago at the start of pre-season. The slick Belgians raced into a 2-0 lead after just 15 minutes.
They took their foot off the gas as Rangers fought back in the second half to claim a 2-2 draw, but few expect the visitors to be so sloppy tonight.
Having dispatched Red Bull Salzburg in the previous round, Nicky Hayen’s side arrive in Glasgow in good form having started the new season with six wins from seven matches in all competitions.
It is clear that Rangers will have to deliver their two best performances under Martin so far if they are to have any chance of progressing and securing the £40million windfall that comes with Champions League qualification.
Asked if these games are the biggest of his managerial career thus far, Martin replied: ‘They’re huge games, yeah.
‘I think the play-off final win with Southampton, and knowing the ramifications and what would happen if we didn’t get promoted, was a very heavy responsibility.
‘Maybe jobs were going to be lost. The club would look very different the next season. So that was very, very big for us as a group.
‘But yeah, this is huge. We’re at this club and we have an opportunity to really go and achieve something tomorrow. They’ll put us in a really good place.
‘So, yeah, it’s a massive, massive game. It’s really difficult, even when I look back at my playing career, to define which one was the most important as a manager. This is huge.
‘It’s massive for us as a group of staff. Massive for the team. Massive for the club.’
The two big calls facing Martin in terms of team selection will be who gets the nod to start up front, and who slots in at left-back.
Danilo looks favourite to start up top as Cyriel Dessers is struggling to shake off the knee injury he suffered in Plzen last week.
Rangers are hopeful of pushing through the paperwork in order for new signing Jayden Meghoma to start at left-back, with Max Aarons also an option as Jefte nears a £6m exit to Palmeiras.
Come what may, Martin wants to deliver a performance on the pitch that energises supporters and uses the power of home advantage at Ibrox.
‘The energy is reciprocal,’ he said. ‘The team needs to play with so much energy that the fans feed off that, and so that will be the message to the players.
‘I spoke to the players this week about the fact they have to enjoy it. They have to play with a bit more joy here at Ibrox because it can be so special and so brilliant, and there’s still a bit of tension at times and all that stuff.
‘Our job is to give them enough clarity and consistency that they can actually enjoy playing for this football club and enjoy moments like that, because it should be one of the best opportunities and times of your career.’