JON FLANAGAN stayed on Scottish soil as Rangers made the trip to Spain and earned a point in Villarreal.

Now he hopes Ibrox will be home sweet home for Steven Gerrard’s side as they bid to see off Rapid Vienna.

The defender was suspended for the Group G opener after being sent off in the play-off tie with Ufa.

While Alfredo Morelos opted to join the Light Blues on the continent, Flanagan choose to stay behind and watch on from afar.

But he could find himself back on the European scene this evening as Rangers host their Austrian counterparts in their second group fixture.

Flanagan said: “Yes, I am looking to get back to playing in Europe at Ibrox. They are always great games with the fans behind us.

“It’s a chance for us to put Livingston on Sunday behind us and look to the future.

“I watched the Villarreal game. It was a great result and a great point for Rangers. I watched it at home.

“I had been training in the morning at the Hummel Training Centre so I just watched it at home. Was it a difficult one to watch given it was a nail-biter of a match? Yes, I think so.

“From the off, we did not get off to the best of starts but the lads were brilliant and in the end they got the point that they deserved.”

Rangers were written off in many quarters before they took to the field at the Estadio de la Cerámica but Gerrard’s side defied the odds to earn a share of the spoils.

Victory over the Austrians would take them top of the section and set them up nicely for the double-header with Spartak Moscow.

And Flanagan hopes the Gers can make the most of their Ibrox advantage.

He said: “I think home games are going to be massive in this group. We know how massive this is to the Rangers fans to be in this competition. We are going to need them behind us.

“I’ve massive memories of playing in Europe with Liverpool. I played in a few away games, like away to Anzi in Russia. But every game I played in Europe with Liverpool was massive and I have a bit of experience going into these group games with Rangers.

“I think he (Gerrard) has installed belief in us and the lads are taking it day by day in training. But we are all believing and we believe that we can get a good result against Rapid Vienna.

“It’s massive that we give the supporters a performance to be proud if. This club deserves to be in European and staging big games.

“The fans have waited a long time for group stage football and we want to repay them with a good performance.”

Rangers return to continental competition this evening on the back of a shock defeat to Livingston.

But Flanagan is confident the Light Blues can return to winning ways and give supporters a timely boost.

He said: “I think this game is coming at the right time. Games are coming thick and fast and we want to put that behind us. We have to learn from it and bounce back.”