THE last time Rangers travelled to take on Villarreal, the Ibrox club were nearing the end of an era.

Alex McLeish had decided to step down as manager following a downturn in domestic form, but was persuaded to remain at the helm until the end of the season by chairman Sir David Murray with the club still going strong in the Champions League.

The last 16 presented the considerable task of overcoming a side containing star names such as Juan Roman Riquelme and Diego Forlan, but a Rangers team containing the likes of Hamed Namouchi and Ian Murray came within a whisker of upsetting the odds. But for an uncharacteristic miss by Kris Boyd, McLeish’s men could have been marching onto the last eight.

“With the 2-2 draw at Ibrox, everybody kind of wrote it off,” said McLeish.

“Riquelme was their main man at the time. We did a number on him over there and he less effective there than he was at Ibrox.

“It was all or nothing in Villarreal for us. It was Peter Lovenkrands who got us off to a flyer.

“[Manuel] Pelligrini was their coach. At 1-1, the ball flashed across the goals for Boydy. Normally, Boydy would’ve scored nine times out of 10. But he just didn’t connect right. But for that we’d have been through to meet Inter in the next round. It was a fantastic double-header performance from the guys. We were so close to the last eight.”

As Rangers now embark on a new era under Steven Gerrard, another trip to Spain to take on Villarreal beckons. The competition may be different, but the task remains a daunting one.

“It’s a tough game,” McLeish said. “They’ve been playing at the top for a long, long time and it’s a new Rangers team going in against them.

“[But] the coaches and new manager have organised them really well. It’s a great achievement for Rangers to get back into a European group. They’ve been through a lot of qualifying rounds in the last few weeks. It’s smashing.

“They’ve not done it for a while, the start of the season last year in Europe was a bit doom and gloom. Now there’s a bit of brightness about the Ibrox situation.

“[That is down to] the sterling work that Gerrard and (Gary) McAllister have done.”

It is still too early to say if that work will lead Rangers to re-emerge as a genuine contender for honours again, but if they can continue the progress they have made under Gerrard to date, then McLeish believes it can only benefit him and the national side as a direct result.

Allan McGregor is currently edging out Celtic goalkeeper Craig Gordon as Scotland’s number one, while Ryan Jack’s fine early season form was rewarded with a call-up to the squad that took on Belgium and Albania last week.

A mistake that was severely punished by the Belgians and a calf injury sustained upon his return to his club may curtail Jack’s progress with both club and country, but McLeish sees a big future ahead of him in dark blue.

“For a few years, the Scotland manager wasn’t really looking at Rangers for players,” he said.

“Now Ryan Jack and Jamie Murphy, sadly injured and sidelined for a while, Greegsy [Allan McGregor] is playing at a fantastic level at the moment with his performances in Europe and at Celtic Park.

“Ryan is a jack of all trades. He can play right back, I am sure he can play a two in midfield. He just needs to get a bit quicker passing in international football!

“It’s been a good start for Rangers in Europe and I think they’ll be itching to play Celtic again after the disappointment of last week.”