JOEY Barton dubbed Rangers’ Europa League exit the worst-ever result by a British team abroad – but reckons it could boost their league hopes.
The Ibrox men suffered fresh humiliation as they crashed out to Luxembourg minnows Progres Niederkorn after a 2-1 defeat on aggregate.
Barton claimed his former Rangers team-mates had lost out to a part-time outfit who would only be good enough for the seventh tier of English football – Progres had never won a European clash before they knocked out Pedro Caixinha’s men.
“You can’t get away from it, it is a terrible result. It is arguably the worst result in British footballing history in Europe. But it shouldn’t change the direction of the football club.
“If Rangers are going to get closer to Celtic and Aberdeen this year, then they don’t really need to be in the Europa League on a Thursday night.”
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here