THE two European campaigns that Ross McCrorie has been part of with Rangers couldn’t have been more different. Both would end with a sense of a missed opportunity for very contrasting reasons.

The first, of course, culminated in that night in Luxembourg. McCrorie wasn’t on the park in the Stade Josy Barthel, but the magnitude of the defeat to Progres Niederkorn still hit home on a player that had yet to make his first team debut.

The midfielder was more experienced and established last season, though, and both he and Rangers would enjoy far more productive experiences on the European stage.

McCrorie played in both legs of the win over Shkupi and was involved against Osijek and Maribor before Steven Gerrard’s side beat Ufa to clinch a group stage berth.

The challenge of progressing through four rounds was daunting, but the early weeks of the campaign were memorable for the Gers.

“It was a big achievement for us because you saw the year before what can happen if you get it wrong in Luxembourg,” McCrorie said.

“You saw the reaction. All the players were on their toes and we knew what to expect. This year, we have got to be at it right from the go once again. It was a huge relief to get through last season. That time in Luxembourg was a dark time for the club so last year was huge to get through all the stages.

“There was relief, but it was down to the hard work that the players put in on the training ground.

“In the changing room, we were all quietly confident because we knew how good our team was. It was just a case of putting it on the field and showing everyone what we could do to get the results.”

That is the task that faces Gerrard and his players once again and four ties in eight weeks are the first hurdles that must be overcome.

A draw in Ufa saw nine-man Rangers qualify in extraordinary circumstances. The manner of the overall results will again matter little, however, if Gerrard can make it two from two on the continent.

“We are hopeful we can qualify again and that is obviously the aim,” McCrorie said of the Light Blues’ upcoming European campaign. “We won’t take anything for granted but that is the aim.

“We will all work hard on the training pitch in pre-season and do our work so that hopefully come the games we can get the results again.

“It was a great night in Ufa, but it was a qualifying round at the end of the day. For a club like Rangers, we should be in the Europa League or the Champions League every season.

“The qualifying rounds, for a club like Rangers, it is not a given because you have to work for it, but we should be getting by those stages. It is up to us to implement it on the pitch and to get the results.”

The reward for their wins over Shkupi, Osijek, Maribor and Ufa was a long-awaited return to group stage action for Rangers.

Matches with Rapid Vienna, Spartak Moscow and Villarreal gave the Ibrox crowd a taste for European competition and the decibel levels surged on each eagerly anticipated night under the floodlights.

But the run on the continent would go no further as the Light Blues missed out with six Group G points.

“The home support was great in the Europa League, we couldn’t have done it without them,” McCrorie said.

“Even over in Vienna in the last game, they gave us tremendous backing.

“We want to bring those nights back again and that is the aim for all the players in the team. We want to go as far as possible.

“It was sore to miss out in Vienna but we were frustrated in a couple of games before it as well. There were games where we played really well but couldn’t put the ball in the net and we dropped points at home to Spartak and Villarreal, plus the game over there where there were mistakes and chances we didn’t put to bed.

“We are confident this time too. We’ve all got a good experience from the European run last season and we have got a good core of players now. That should stand us in good stead.”

Come the end of the season, Rangers would ultimately be left empty-handed once again. The mood amongst supporters was different to previous terms, however.

The European run was amongst the highlights, as were the Old Firm wins over Celtic at Ibrox.

And McCrorie hopes that momentum can be maintained and built upon as Rangers look for further progress in the coming months.

He said: “The managers that were here did the best job that they could with what they had, so I wouldn’t say anything bad about the past regimes.

“Caixinha gave me my debut and I am really grateful for that and I thought he was a good manager.

“Now, we have been getting the results, there is a lot of positivity throughout the club and there are a lot of developments going on so it is all looking really good.

“We will not get carried away and we are just looking at that first game of the season. The fans were superb again last season and I am sure they will come back in their numbers again to support us. We will use that to drive us on.”

That work started on Monday as the majority of the Gers squad reported for pre-season duty at the Hummel Training Centre.

A trip to Spain 12 months ago gave Rangers an ideal base. This time, it is a camp in Portugal for Gerrard’s side.

McCrorie said: “The pre-season was really hard but it paid off for us.

“Every season it is difficult because of the qualifiers, we are always starting back earlier. Last summer it was tremendous, it really gave us a base of fitness going in the season and you could see the benefit of that in our performances, especially in Europe.

“I don’t think there will be as big a turnover of players but there will be new players coming in and the pre-season gives all the boys a chance to gel. We will get together and get to know each other and bond. We will be raring to go for the season.”