It is debate that has rumbled on all season and even longer? Just why are Rangers so much better in Europe than domestically.
It was something that was evident with Philippe Clement in charge but the players showed it is still there when they followed up back-to-back home defeats to St Mirren and Motherwell with a brilliant away win at Fenerbahce.
That sets them up for a potential Europa League quarter-final while sitting a depressing 16 points behind Celtic in the Premiership.
Clement disagreed with claims it was a different Gers team we were saying when they played on the continent and John Souttar was on the same page.
But the Fenerbahce performance displayed it and Nico Raskin was even branded ‘world class’ by Ally McCoist for his own showing.
While Jose Mourinho said Cyriel Dessers looked like the best player in the world on the night, even if that was partly down to how his defenders played against him.
None of that solves the lingering question of just why there is such a difference between European and domestic Rangers.
Tavernier takes on Rangers Europe question
The most likely theory is that playing in Europe suits Rangers more because the onus is not on them to go and dominate a game and be creative.
In the Premiership, teams come up against the Light Blues and sit deep in a low block. The challenge is then how to play through that and that’s where the team has come unstuck on several occasions.
In European competition, opposition sides will come out and play and that leaves gaps which can be exploited. Fenerbahce was just the latest of example of Rangers being adept at keeping it compact and being effective on the counter attack.
James Tavernier is the latest to tackle the subject and he said: “What’s the difference? It’s obviously a different style of play. It’s probably a bit more open and we’re the ones that are sitting in a little bit. Fenerbahce had tons of possession and a lot of the ball.
“But as we have been in Europe this season, we were really clinical in the first leg. That’s the difference I suppose. If we shut up shop at the back, going forward we can be really clinical, it makes a massive difference.”
Rangers treating Fenerbahce Europa League tie as a 0-0
The Turkish side are still dangerous opponents and will be wounded and looking to make amends for last week.
So Rangers can’t afford to treat it as if it is over and the captain insists they definitely will not.
He also referenced tragic Gers fan Christopher Potter, who the players will be going all out to get a result for.
“No, it’s definitely not over,” said the 33-year-old. “We’ll treat it as nil-nil going into Ibrox. We can use our fans and treat it like a must-win.
“We’ve got to be strong defensively, to keep a clean sheet. There was a lot of noise from the Fenerbahce fans in the first game and we’re going to need all our fans in the second leg at Ibrox.
“Then it comes down to our performance. We’ve got to get the fans behind us with a performance that they’re enjoying and proud of. Obviously they’d have been proud of the performance last Thursday and we really appreciate the travelling fans who came over.
“Obviously, we were all saddened by the news of what happened before the game (with the death of fan Christopher Potter). So our thoughts continue to be with his family.
“It’s down to us putting in a performance again on Thursday and getting the fans right behind us. We know how loud Ibrox can be and we’ve got to use that as an advantage.”
