THE journey from Luxembourg to Lanarkshire is almost complete for Rangers. Having taken strides on the road to recovery in recent weeks, another marker post will be reached tomorrow afternoon.

It may only be a month since that infamous night in the Stade Josy Barthel but the clock has ticked slowly for the Light Blue legions as they have counted down to the start of the new Premiership campaign.

The defeat to Progres Niederkorn won’t be forgotten or forgiven by supporters but the focus now has to be on the future and what lies ahead in the coming weeks and months.

After encouraging showings against Marseille, Watford and Sheffield Wednesday, Pedro Caixinha’s side return to competitive action when they face Motherwell.

Having suffered a false start already this season, Rangers can’t afford a faltering one at Fir Park.

“It’s disappointing, but there’s nothing we can do about it,” striker Kenny Miller said.

“It’s done now. A month has passed now. It has all been about building towards the start of the season.

“Of course we’re disappointed. But we have got to let that go now and focus on Sunday.

“We’ve got Motherwell on Sunday. What do you want to be focused on? Do you want to focus on what happened a month ago? Or do you want to be focused on actually starting the season on a positive note?

“Last season we stumbled at home against Hamilton. We need to start well. You don’t want to be falling a point, two points, three points behind teams after two or three games.

“It’s important we are fully focused on the job in hand which is beating Motherwell on Sunday. I am not worried about what went on a month ago because there is absolutely nothing anybody can do about that.

“It was disappointing and we can use it as a driving force, whatever you want to do. It is important we start well on Sunday.”

This time last year, Rangers were preparing for their Premiership return full of excitement and optimism. It didn’t take long for the enthusiasm to seep from supporters, though.

Mark Warburton’s side underperformed and underachieved in the top flight, while Caixinha suffered Old Firm heartache at Hampden and humiliation on home soil.

A summer clear-out and the arrival of nine new faces has given the Gers squad a fresh look but early impetus is now required to give fans a reason to be optimistic once again.

Miller said: “You hope [we are in better shape than twelve months ago]. It’s not my job to assemble a squad, that’s been the manager’s job to identify players.

“He had three or four months towards the end of the season to understand what the club’s about, the demands, what’s expected, the characteristics of the individuals that are going need to come and be a success here.

“That’s been his job and he’s signed players he feels are going to be more than capable of doing that.

“The last week has definitely been a positive going into the opening game of the season.

“But I’m not going to sit here and make crazy claims of we’re going to do this or that. I’ll be taking each game at a time because, for me, this game on Sunday is a huge start for us.

“If we can get a positive result and build momentum and get confidence and belief in the stands for those two home games after that then we’ll be on the right track to have a not bad season.”

The weeks since that horror show in Luxembourg have been put to good use by Caixinha and Rangers have certainly improved in recent weeks.

The Gers squad stayed south of the border after the behind closed doors game with Watford last midweek before heading to Hillsborough for their final warm-up fixture.

And Miller reckons the time away from the park was just as important as the minutes on it as the new-look squad got a chance to know each other as people and players.

He said: “It gave us that opportunity. Obviously we never had the chance to enjoy a routine pre-season where we have a week away maybe Stateside or Germany or Holland or Portugal.

“We didn’t have that opportunity because the minute we were back after two weeks off we were focused on a game, which was quite unique in the build up to a season.

“Then losing that game we’ve then got a full pre-season left before the first league game.

“So it give us the chance to get away, go out for a few meals as a squad, which the manager is big on. It was a positive week we had and it was well worthwhile.”

Rangers were cheered on by a several thousand strong travelling support on Sunday as goals from Josh Windass and Miller clinched a deserved win over the Owls.

It has been a tough few years for the Light Blue legions and Miller is eager to give them a reason to be cheerful this season.

Miller said: “The fans are always there, just waiting – the support we took to the friendly last weekend was just phenomenal. They’re willing us to do well but they’ve been used to success, it’s as simple as that.

“This club is used to success and not the points gaps we were looking at last season. They’re not used to not reaching cup finals.

“Without wishing to sound repetitive, the start is hugely important for us. For me, there’s an extra significance about Sunday’s game because, in my opinion, there’s a lot riding on it.”