A Victory In Europe Will Stop Gulf War For Gers

Aug 3 2008 Andy Walker

EVERY player in the Rangers dressing-room will believe they can get through Tuesday's tricky tie in Kaunas and stay on track for the Champions League group stages.

But they will also be aware of how much pressure they're under as the importance of these qualifiers has clearly registered.

Stand-in captain Davie Weir summed it up last week when he said: "We want to be in the Champions League. That's the place to be and anything else is a poor consolation prize."

Those sentiments were echoed by Charlie Adam who admitted: "We need to be in the Champions League no matter what.

"Financially, we need it as a club and as players wanting to improve we need to be competing against the best."

Failure against FBK Kaunas in midweek is unthinkable for Walter Smith's men and they must then get past either Aalborg or FC Modrica to reach the promised land.

Without the cash that goes with the Champions League they will struggle to stop Celtic adding more titles to the three they have already racked up under Gordon Strachan.

If Gers lose out in the qualifying rounds the Hoops will pocket all the TV money allocated to Scottish clubs - around £2.5million extra.

And that's on top of the £10m-£12m Celtic stand to earn just from taking part in Europe's premier competition.

Sir David Murray will know his team can't afford to lose revenue like that. Gers were booed off the park last Wednesday after their stalemate with Kaunas in the first leg at Ibrox.

Not so long ago a quadruple was being talked about but the mood of a club can change quickly.

Fans are moaning about a lack of flair, skill and imagination but players with those qualities don't come cheap.

And neither Rangers nor Celtic can compete in a crazy modern market.

The £20m Liverpool paid for Spurs striker Robbie Keane is astronomical.

The Reds will never get their money back on the 28-year-old but who cares?

Money down south keeps rolling in.

Even smaller clubs like Fulham can afford to make £12m bids for players like Everton star Andy Johnson.

The big names will always go down south where riches are on offer and it's getting harder and harder for the Old Firm to compete.

Rangers fans can't realistically expect their side to repeat the Euro heroics of last season when they marched all the way to the UEFA Cup Final.

But they have every right to demand Champions League football.

That's a reasonable requirement at Ibrox and Smith's men simply can't afford to miss out on the party.

If they don't make it a huge gulf in spending power will start to emerge.

Smith will know that after seeing Rangers dominate Celtic during his first spell at the Ibrox helm.

I played for the Hoops in the early 90s when they lagged behind Gers financially. And the money at Ibrox made a huge difference on the park.

Guys like Mark Hateley didn't come cheap but they gave Smith value for money with some superb displays.

Big Mark wasn't the only quality player identified by Rangers at that time and big buys kept the rest of Scotland's clubs at bay.

When your rivals can't spend at the same level you have to make a real mess of things not to win a lot of trophies.

Unless you're rearing your own young stars - and there's only so many like Alan Hutton who come through the ranks and move on for £9m - good players will cost you decent money.

And when you have quality on the park it gives you a far better shot at winning trophies.

However, landing silverware, especially the domestic cups, is becoming less of a priority.

Rangers got back to winning ways last season by lifting the CIS and Scottish Cups - the first signs of success in three seasons.

But what's more important in the current climate where every pound is a prisoner - a League Cup triumph or winning through to the knockout stages of the Champions League?

Ask most punters right now and I'll bet they'd prefer to see their team mixing it with the big boys in preference to winning the least important domestic cup on offer.

At the end of this season if Rangers only have two more cup successes to celebrate the punters won't be happy.

It isn't good enough for them.

Money is everything and a place in the last 16 of the Champions League means more to a club now than a domestic cup success.

I still fancy Rangers to get past Kaunas and the likelihood is they will take on Danish champions Aalborg for a place in the groups.

My old Bolton gaffer Bruce Rioch (left) is now in charge at Aalborg and will love the challenge of pitting his wits against Smith.

Like the Gers boss, Bruce has spent some serious money in the past.

Dennis Bergkamp, at £7.5million, was his first major signing when he took over at Arsenal. And the Dutchman proved to be a snip as he became a club legend.

In the end the best tools a manager can have are money and the ability to spend it wisely.