The Light Blues have been starved of domestic success in recent seasons
Rangers legend Ally McCoist(Image: Getty Images)
Ally McCoist has loved watching Rangers fly the flag for Scotland in Europe.
But the Ibrox legend insists ending Celtic’s domestic dominance must be Russell Martin’s utmost priority.
Gers swatted aside Panathinaikos in Tuesday night’s Champions League qualifier to take a commanding 2-0 lead to Athens next week.
It’s the first of six hurdles the Light Blues will have to overcome if they are to secure a £40million ticket to the lucrative league phase.
There’s still a long road to go, but if Rangers can get the job done in Greece, they will at least be guaranteed European group stage football.
The Ibrox side have boosted Scotland’s coefficient in recent years with their Europa League exploits but have been starved of domestic success.
And McCoist admits he’d be willing to sacrifice those famous Thursday nights under the lights if it meant derailing serial-winning Celtic’s bid for five-in-a-row.
He told FourFourTwo: “I would rather see them improve domestically, because we’ve been miles off it there.
“There were good results against Celtic last term but there’s an argument that there was more at stake for Rangers, because Celtic were looking like they were running away with it.
“It was almost a matter of pride for us. If Rangers can mount more of a title threat, with a repeat in Europe, I’ll be happy.”
Russell Martin enjoyed a memorable Euro debut at Ibrox(Image: SNS Group)
While Rangers have spent more than a decade in the shadow of their Old Firm rivals, they’ve punched well above their weight against some of Europe’s elite.
It’s an ongoing trend that’s left Ibrox supporters scratching their heads and McCoist said: “That’s been the case for a while now.
“It has a lot to do with how they set up to play in Scotland, where they’re a dominant side that have to break teams down.
“In Europe, even at home, teams aren’t looking to sit deep as much – that’s when Rangers come to life as they have players that can hit teams on the break.
“Some of Rangers’ performances in Europe last season were very good – they went to Malmo and won, scored four in Nice, gave Manchester United a really good game, then pulled off an incredible result in Turkey against Fenerbahce in the knockouts.
“Some really good performances. I want to be saying that about the league as well.”
Celtic have also started to make inroads in Europe under Brendan Rodgers, reaching the Champions League knockouts for the first time since 2012/13.
McCoist tipped his hat by admitting: “There was a big improvement in their Champions League performances. The 3-1 home win against Leipzig was as good as I’ve seen them in a long time.
“They got a great draw at Atalanta, and they were very unlucky to go out against Bayern Munich in the knockouts, only narrowly losing at home, then drawing in Germany.
“They could have taken that to extra-time. It was really encouraging.”
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