KRIS Boyd passed up a gilt-edged chance to both secure a famous European victory for Rangers and book a place in the Champions League quarter-finals the last time the Ibrox club visited the El Madrigal.

The striker was, with his side drawing 1-1 on the night and 3-3 on aggregate, unable to convert an opportunity late on in the last 16 encounter with the star-studded Spaniards in a back in 2006.

Alex McLeish’s men, who had become the first Scottish club to make it out of the group stages of Europe’s premier club competition, ended up being knocked out by Manuel Pellegrini’s charges on away goals after a valiant effort.

But Boyd is confident that Steven Gerrard has a player at his disposal who will be able to net when Rangers square up to their old adversaries again in their opening Europa League group game tomorrow evening – new signing Kyle Lafferty.

Lafferty has done well since returning to the Ibrox club for a second spell from Hearts last month; he helped them beat Ufa of Russia 1-0 in the first leg of their play-off and then netted a double on his first start in a 3-3 draw with Motherwell at Fir Park.

The Northern Ireland internationalist is almost certain to start up front tomorrow evening as Alfredo Morelos in suspended and Umar Sadiq hasn’t played since he came on as a late substitute against Kilmarnock in a Betfred Cup game at Rugby Park over a month ago.

Boyd, now playing for Kilmarnock and providing his expert analysis of Scottish football for Sky Sports, believes he will be a far greater threat for his former club now the excitement of his return to Rangers has subsided.

“I think Kyle will have been playing on adrenaline since signing for Rangers last month,” he said as he attended a McDonald’s and SFA community football day. “He has gone back to the club he loves and will have been so happy.

“But now he has got international duty out of the way I think we will see a different player. He will get back to doing what he does best. He can be a handful for any team both in Scotland and in Europe.”

Morelos being ruled out as a result of his ordering off in the second leg of the Ufa double header means that Gerrard will only go with one player in attack against Villarreal tomorrow night.

But Boyd, who enjoyed his best season at Ibrox in the 2008/09 campaign when he played up front alongside Kenny Miller, believes the Liverpool and England great should persevere with the Morelos-Lafferty partnership going forward.

“I always feel as if a club like Rangers should have two strikers up front,” he said. “They create so many chances. If everything is done properly in terms of the midfield, if the midfielders are willing to run beyond the strikers and create opportunities, then I think it can be successful.

“It didn’t really work at Celtic Park, but you have to look at the big picture. Celtic are by far the dominant force in the country. They had lost one of their last 41 league games at home under Brendan Rodgers and that was after they had won the league.

“I think we saw at Motherwell that Lafferty and Morelos is a promising partnership. Kyle can come in off the left and come in off the right. Alfredo is prepared to drop into the holes and the midfielders are prepared to get forward and get beyond them then it can work out well.”

The Ladbrokes Premiership club’s defenders are expected to have a far busier night tonight than their striker in an opening Group G fixture against La Liga opponents that not even their most optimistic follower is expecting them to get a result in, never mind win.

But Boyd is confident his former Rangers and Scotland team mate Allan McGregor, who was a standout performer for the Glasgow outfit in the qualifying rounds, will cope with what promises to be a torrid night.

“I have played with Allan and I know him well,” he said. “He is more than a good goalkeeper, he’s a great goalkeeper. We have seen that with his performances recently for Rangers. But that has been the way of it over the years. I don’t think Allan’s performances could be faulted anywhere he has been in his career.

“When I first went to Rangers you could see how talented he was. He was quite fortunate in a way that Rangers had goalkeepers like Stefan Klos, Lionel Charbonnier and Ronald Wattereus. He benefited from going out on loan to St Johnstone and Dunfermline. He has gone from strength to strength.”

Boyd believes McGregor can now be considered Scotland’s first choice goalkeeper after being preferred to his Celtic counterpart Craig Gordon in the Nations League opener against Albania earlier this month and believes that will have given his confidence a timely boost.

“Alex McLeish obviously had a tough decision to make,” he said. But I fully expected Allan to start against Albania. Being involved in a competitive fixture for me means he’s Scotland’s No.1. I am sure he will be delighted.

“From a Scotland point of view, it is good that we have two players who are so talented in the same position. Off the field they are definitely different characters. Knowing them both as I do, whoever isn’t selected will give the other one his full backing.”

Kris Boyd was speaking at the McDonald's & Scottish FA Community Football Day in Inverness. These football days have taken place across the UK this summer, giving thousands of children the chance to enjoy the beautiful game.