‘It’s been some journey’ - Ryan Jack reflects on Rangers European adventure since Progres Niederkorn failure

Rangers will run out in front of a hostile capacity home crowd at the Stade de Genève in stifling 32C heat - but Ryan Jack reckons the pre-season fitness work inflicted on the players by Michael Beale will pay dividends against Servette tonight.

The midfielder, who earned a contract extension earlier this summer, is expected to start against the Swiss outfit in the second leg of their Champions League third round qualifier after being rested for the league clash against Livingston by the Gers boss on Saturday.

The Light Blues are defending a narrow first-leg 2-1 advantage after failing to a convert a host of second half chances into more goals at Ibrox last week to leave the tie still firmly in the balance.

It seems likely that a play-off tie against PSV Eindhoven will be the prize on offer for whoever advances this evening, with the Dutch side building up a commanding 4-1 lead over Austrian’s Sturm Graz.

Jack, however, is well aware of the challenge in front of them as they attempt to negotiate a way past Servette in Geneva. It is exactly the type of high-pressured match that the 31-year-old has become accustomed to playing in over the years.

He admitted: “Every game in Europe is tough, but that’s what you go away in pre-season for. We train in the heat, we had a friendly in Germany (against Hoffenheim) in the heat, it was 30-plus degrees. So we are well used to it and I don’t think it will be an issue.

“Obviously last week it was good for us to get the lead to take into the second leg. It’s a tough match and we expect another one here. It’ll be a full house with a lot of fans but we’ve experienced that as a squad and a team for many years now, so we’re looking forward to it.

“Every games poses a different challenge. We’re going to be up against a good side, with good midfielders who are technically good. Myself and the other players in midfield need to match that, we need to be strong and we need to stand up to it. As the gaffer touched on, we need to play the way we play. It’s important we don’t come and sit in. It’s important we come and have a go.”

The Scotland international has gained a lot of European experience during his time at both Rangers and previous club Aberdeen.

Jack and captain James Tavernier remain the only survivors from that humiliating night in Luxembourg when Pedro Caixinha’s side crashed out of the Europa League to part-timers Progres Niederkorn in 2017. It’s fair to say Rangers have come a long way since events unravelled on that dismal evening.

”It has been some journey since then,” Jack reflected. “Those were my first games for the club, so to go from those matches, to the Europa League Final and then again last season reaching the group stage of the Champions League, it’s been an incredible experience and journey.

“But it’s a new set of players, different staff and we want to go on a different journey together. I learned a lot from those games. It’s different challenges in different games but it’s important you try to bounce back.

“You never get too high when things are going well and never too low when things aren’t. We just need to carry that as we go along.”