IT'S the heartbeat for any successful side, the major artery that has an influence on every other area of the team.

And when it fails to function properly, it can ultimately lead to rendering something immobile.

While strikers score the goals that win games and defenders, at the other end, can cost you matches by gifting goals away, there can be no disputing the midfield is the most important department in a team.

At the highest level, its where games are won and lost. It's the area of the team which can have the biggest influence on a match - come out on top in the engine room and you'll not be far away from securing a victory.

As Rangers supporters sieve through the wreckage of their disastrous European exit at the hands of Lithuanian side Kaunas, the focus should be on this part of the team.

True, Kenny Miller once again missed a glorious opportunity to hit the net and, had he and Jean-Claude Darcheville been more clinical in the first leg, then it would have made for a routine trip to Lithuania this week.

Towards the end of the game, Andrius Velicka also passed up a gift when he was presented with a chance to put his countrymen to the sword and fire his team into the third qualifying round.

If we are being ultra critical, then goalkeeper Allan McGregor will know he should have done better for Kaunas' opening goal and captain Davie Weir shouldn't have lost his man at a corner for the goal that knocked them out of Europe.

But you know what? The most accountable department in the Rangers ranks on Tuesday night was the midfield.

Walter Smith decided to go for a 4-5-1 formation, with Nacho Novo providing his team with pace down the right and Charlie Adam coming in to play at left midfield, leaving Christian Dailly, Kevin Thomson and Lee McCulloch in the centre.

When you go with a trio in the centre, you usually ask one to play just in front of the defence and the other two further forward, or have two playing normal midfield roles and one bombing forward and trying to get into the penalty area.

PACE Nacho Novo has plenty of gas in the tank but is he not wasted in midfield?	MISFIRING Set-piece delivery is Charlie Adam's strength but went missing in Kaunas	UNEASY Christian Dailly's forte is spoiling, not creating, which lets him down

PHYSICAL Rugged and determined but no guile hinders Lee's midfield contribution

NO PLACE Brahim Hemdani thought to be Gers European general so where was he?

OPTION Is Kyle Lafferty the man to spark left midfield into life? Time will tell

However, all three just seemed to get in each others way all evening. Dailly was the one who probably saw most of the ball, but he isn't comfortable in possession and is incapable of dictating play.

That's not McCulloch's strength either. His game is all about knocking on headers, providing his team with a physical presence and getting on the end of things in the penalty area.

The one guy out of the three who has the capability to dominate a game is Thomson, but he became more and more invisible the longer the game went on. Can you imagine Barry Ferguson disappearing in a game of that magnitude?

Even Brahim Hemdani could have offered his team someone who is naturally comfortable on the ball and can play possession football, moving the ball, buying his team more time.

The longer you have the ball, the less likely you are of losing goals. And that was Rangers' biggest problem - they didn't keep the ball well enough.

While leadership was also missing, so too was the goal threat. In Adam, the Ibrox side have someone who is more than capable of scoring goals from free-kicks, open play and creating chances with his left-foot.

But his free-kicks failed to get off the ground and went straight into the Kaunas defensive wall, before he was hooked. If he gives himself a kick up the backside he can contribute more.

Smith has other options in Kyle Lafferty, who can play wide on the left and even young Dean Furman must fancy his chances of being handed a chance to show what he can do.

As far as Europe is concerned, it's now over. So whether certain players are good enough to perform at that level no longer matters. What's important now is are they good enough to turn on the style in the SPL?

Smith, as we all know, has made every effort to bring in reinforcements for midfield but the wage anomalies between Scotland and the Premiership has made it next to impossible for him to sign several of his main signing targets.

And when you look at Celtic, who have Paul Hartley, Barry Robson, Scott Brown - even Massimo Donati to a certain extent - all capable if taking a game by the scruff of the neck and taking charge, it highlights how poor Rangers are in this area.

Two poor performances have ended Rangers Euro ambitions but there are players at the club who still have much to offer.

McCulloch and Adam are capable of scoring goals; Thomson has more in his locker than he is showing.

And Ferguson will be back in action again in a few months time. Providing Smith can bring in one new midfielder, possibly even two, it would be foolish to suggest Celtic will stroll to a fourth consecutive title before a ball is kicked.

Over the years, Rangers have had outstanding midfielders. When Smith took over from Graeme Souness in 1991, he had the likes of Stuart McCall, Ian Durrant, Trevor Steven.

He brought in world-class quality such as Paul Gascoigne and someone with a major European pedigree in Jorg Albertz. When he departed and Dick Advocaat came in the Dutchman recognises the important of a strong midfield.

Barry Ferguson became the linchpin of his team, and he was surrounded by quality such as Claudio Reyna, Tugay, Giovanni van Bronckhurst and Ronald de Boer. Even Alex McLeish could call on £6m man Mikel Arteta as a partner for Fergie.

While the funds might not be there anymore for that sort of quality, surely there must be players out there who could come in and solve Smith's current problems?