Skopje: A year after being humbled by Luxembourg part-timers Progres Niederkorn, Rangers advanced to the second round of the Europa League qualifiers with a 2-0 aggregate win over FC Shkupi but manager Steven Gerrard concedes his new side are way short of where they need to be.
The Scottish club’s defeat at the same stage of the competition last year is regarded by many as the worst in their 146-year history, and while avoiding a similar fate at the hands of the Macedonians was the priority, Gerrard said they must improve.
Rangers carried a 2-0 first-leg lead into the return match in Skopje on Tuesday and while they were comfortable throughout a drab 0-0 draw, there was little to suggest they will have a long run in Europe’s second-tier club competition.
“At the moment, I am a bit mixed right now,” Gerrard told RangersTV, adding that while Rangers looked solid defensively they were poor going forward.
“I am pleased with the one side of the game, but there is certainly a hell of a lot of work to do on the other.
There are things I’m pleased at, but I am concerned about the lack of quality in the final third.”
The 38-year-old former Liverpool great singled out new centre backs Connor Goldson and Nikola Katic, as well as returning goalkeeper Allan McGregor, for praise after the match at the Philip II Arena in the Macedonian capital.
“I set the players a challenge before the game a clean sheet and we are through. I think there is still a little bit of a mental block going on, especially with what happened 12 months ago,” said Gerrard, who was in charge of Liverpool’s academy before taking up his first senior managerial position in May.
Gerrard has brought in nine players as he looks to end the dominance of Glasgow rivals Celtic, who have won the league for seven straight years and completed an unprecedented ‘double-treble’ last season.
Rangers have won a record 54 league titles but are struggling to recover from the financial problems that saw them reformed in the bottom tier of Scottish football in 2012.
They open their Scottish Premiership campaign at Aberdeen on August 5.
—Reuters
Results
Europa League
Second qualifying round
Honved (HUN) 4 Rabotnicki (MKD) 0
Honved win 5-2 on aggregate
Shkupi (MKD) 0 Rangers (SCO) 0
Rangers win 2-0 on aggregate
Levski (BUL) 3 Vaduz (LIE) 2
Aggregate 3-3. Vaduz win on away goals
Champions League
First qualifying round
Red Star Belgrade (SRB) 2 Spartaks (LAT) 0
Red Star win 2-0 on aggregate
APOEL (CYP) 1 Suduva (LTU) 0
Sudova win 3-2 on aggregate
Hapoel Beer-Sheva (ISR) 3 Flora (EST) 1
Hapoel win 7-2 on aggregate
Valletta (MLT) 1 Kukks (ALB) 1
Agg 1-1. Kukes win on away goals
HJK (FIN) 3 Vmkingur (FRO) 1
HJK win 5-2 on aggregate
Malmo (SWE) 2 Drita (KOS) 0
Malmo win 5-0 on aggregate
Vidi (HUN) 2 Dudelange (LUX) 1
Vidi win 3-2 on aggregate
Legia (POL) 3 Cork City (IRL) 0
Legia win 4-0 on aggregate
Crusaders (NIR) 0 Ludogorets (BUL) 2
Ludogorets win 9-0 on aggregate
