LAST week, the focus was on off-field matters for Rangers as Dave King announced the new Sports Direct deal and Mark Allen was appointed as Director of Football.

Tonight, there is only one thing that will matter to the 50,000 fans inside Ibrox and that is football. The new season starts here for Rangers.

As the chairman has said recently, the club is in the best place it has been for the last five years and this is the first time that the overwhelming majority of supporters have been on a real high for a long, long time.

Read more: Kenny Miller hopes Rangers can build some Europa League momentum ahead of new Premiership campaign

Glasgow Times: Rangers manager Pedro Caixinha (L) and striker Kenny Miller promote the Europa League qualifier against Progres Niederkorn

Yes, we need to wait and see how the team plays and what the new signings are like. As I have said, Rangers haven’t turned any corners when it comes to the football just yet.

But there is a freedom and a freshness around the club right now and everybody is looking forward to the match with Progres Niederkorn as we return to the Europa League.

The board have backed the manager in the transfer market this summer and Pedro Caixinha has got what he has asked for.

Everyone knew that big changes had to be made, and the board realised that as much as anybody because they are all fans and they would have been gutted at how last season panned out.

Well, they have done something about it and put their money in to help Rangers get back to where they want to be in Scotland and in Europe.

Read more: Kenny Miller hopes Rangers can build some Europa League momentum ahead of new Premiership campaign

There are no excuses for Pedro now. He came in last season and there was a grace period while he got up to speed and assessed the squad.

It wasn’t his group that he was working with then but it certainly is now and he will know that he has to go and deliver this season.

You can’t read too much into the first game tonight but it will be interesting to see how the team shape up and what the manager is trying to do with so many new faces on board.

Rangers are in a good place right now and off the field things are looking far better. Now we have to concentrate on matters on the park and we have to keep moving forward.

Pedro knows what the club is all about, he knows what is expected of him and he has been able to bring eight players in so far this summer. Now the challenge is getting them all to gel together quickly and getting results on the park.

This season is either going to go through the roof, or through the floor. I don’t think there will be any in betweens.

The players have to settle in, get used to Scottish football, the climate and adjust to life at Rangers and time is of the essence this season.

Going into the new campaign, Rangers are in the best situation that they have been in for some time. That is why the fans are excited and they have sold out Ibrox.

They can see positive things happening at their club and there is a feel good factor. If that is to continue, Pedro must do his bit in terms of performances and results.

Read more: Kenny Miller hopes Rangers can build some Europa League momentum ahead of new Premiership campaign

He came in towards the end of the season and only had a few games to decide who would stay, who would go and who would come in.

He has then only had a couple of weeks to get those deals done and try and prepare the side for the first competitive game tonight.

There are no excuses now. He can’t, and he won’t, say ‘well, these aren’t my players’. This is Pedro’s team now.

It will maybe take two or three games for him to find his strongest eleven and for everyone to get up to speed.

I don’t see him sticking rigidly to the same formation and style every week. I think it will be horses for courses for him and he has shown already that he isn’t afraid to change things.

It is set up to be a far better season for Rangers but now Pedro and the players have to deliver if those excitement levels amongst the fans are going to continue.

Hopefully we can get off to a good start at home tonight but nobody should be taking anything for granted going into this tie.

A lot of fans are looking ahead to the third round or the play-off round but you have to earn the right to be in the second round before you can think about anything else.

We have only had time for a couple of behind closed doors games against TNS, Coleraine and St Johnstone and that is not an ideal preparation for a season. As the weeks go on, the players should get sharper and the team should get stronger.

But everyone is only looking at the 90 minutes at Ibrox tonight and hopefully we get the right result ahead of the trip to Luxembourg.

The fans have got high expectations and they are excited about what could lie ahead for Rangers in the coming months.

I can’t remember a tie like this attracting a 50,000 sell out at Ibrox in recent years. That is how keen the supporters are to get back watching their team. Let’s hope that the feel good factor amongst them continues.