Alex Rae, the former Rangers midfielder, has cautioned that the Ibrox side will not have it easy against Royal Antwerp on Thursday night as Steven Gerrard’s side look to make it back-to-back seasons of making it to the last 16 of the tournament. 

Antwerp are currently 13 points off the pace of league leaders Club Brugge and have been hindered since their change of manager at the turn of the year. Having orchestrated qualification from the group that included Jose Mourinho’s Spurs, whom Antwerp beat on their own patch, Croatian manager Ivan Lenko left the club for the Chinese Super League.  

He was replaced by the former Belgian internationalist, Franky Vercauteren, one of the semi-finalists of that 1986 World Cup side. Despite the changes that have taken place at the club Rae has warned that the commonality is the tactical element of a league that is traditionally a breeding ground for significant talent.  Rae was assistant to Alex McLeish at Genk in 2014 so has first-hand experience of the Belgian league and appreciates the quality of players that have come through. 

“I loved my time in Belgian football and what you find is that they have a system that supports the development and progress of young players,” he said. “Pieter Gerkins, a midfielder who will play for Royal Antwerp against Rangers on Thursday night, was one of the kids that we had who was coming through for us at the time.

“There were others who have since gone for huge money and become big players – Timothy Castagne who is now with Brendan Rodgers down at Leicester and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic who is now at Lazio were just coming through when we were there.  The quality of these players is an indication of just how strong their league is and how strong the development side of it is.”

Rangers are just four games away from claiming their first title in a decade and domestic success was always going to be the priority given the weight of this season. Within touching distance of delivering a much coveted title, European progression is where Gerrard’s reputation will be enhanced south of the border.

“Steven was among la crème de la crème of players of his generation and there will always have been interest in how he would do when he went into management and stepped into the dug-out,” said Rae.

“He is within touching distance of winning the title but it won’t stop him from wanting to have some European success again. If he can take Rangers to the last 16 of the Europa League for the second season in a row, it underlines the work that he has overseen at the club in the three seasons he has been there.

“There is no Rangers fan who would want to be chasing him out of the door and I am no different but his stock would definitely be high if he delivered a title and continued to compete in a European arena. “

Alfredo Morelos is available for selection on Thursday night as is Kemar Roofe.  And Rae believes Rangers with Morelos leading the line are always a threat.

“I think Rangers are a different team with Alfredo Morelos in it,” he said. “I think he is clinical but it is more than that. People always try and rile him up and get in his face but while all of that is going on it creates space for other people but he is also a very good striker.   Some of his very best performances for Rangers have come in Europe and he’ll be itching to get back out while Roofe has also showed his quality.”