WITH three games remaining in Group G, a place in the knockout rounds of the Europa League is there for Rangers to grab.

But if Steven Gerrard’s side are going to achieve that and go further than they did in the competition last season, they are going to need to make the most of the two fixtures that they have at Ibrox.

The first of those comes tonight against top seeds Porto, while the visit of Young Boys in early December will round off the section after we have been to Feyenoord in a couple of weeks.

Beating Feyenoord on the first matchday was the perfect start for Rangers and they did so well to recover from losing in Bern, especially in the manner they did, to get a point away to Porto last time.

If we can now win two out of the next three, we certainly have a chance of qualifying. The two best chances of that will come at Ibrox.

After beating Rapid Vienna last season, Rangers could only draw with Spartak Moscow and Villarreal and they narrowly missed out on qualification.

Porto are another very, very good side coming to Ibrox but we have already taken a point away from home and there is certainly a chance of a big result tonight.

There will be another full house at Ibrox and the Rangers fans will be expecting the side to win. I think we need to win both the home games if we are going to progress.

Rangers are good enough to do that, of course they are. On their day, they are as good as anyone in that group and are more than capable of beating any of the teams.

But now they need to go out and prove that against Porto. It is down to the players to turn up, to perform and show that they have what it takes to beat a team as good as Porto, a side that are disappointed not to be in the Champions League.

The European nights at Ibrox are always special. I loved them as a player and I love going to watch them as a fan these days.

Having the big crowd behind you and playing under the lights can inspire players, but you know at Rangers that if you don’t play well then the crowd won’t be slow in telling you. Can you handle that?

The Rangers fans will certainly get behind the team tonight and the manager and the players have spoken previously about how important the crowd can be in driving them on. I expect Ibrox to be bouncing for this one.

If the team can start positively, pass the ball well, create chances and score a goal early on, the crowd will go with the players and the momentum builds in the game.

The fans have got a part to play, but the players need to give them something to cheer first of all.

The players that are new to Rangers would have got a sense of what the club is all about during the wins over Legia Warsaw and Feyenoord this season.

They were terrific nights at Ibrox but a win over Porto could top the lot and Steven seems in confident mood heading into this one.

There is pressure on him in the dugout and there is pressure on his players to perform given what is at stake. But that is why they are at Rangers and why they signed up to be part of a big club like this.

We know this season is all about winning silverware for Rangers and the Premiership and the cup competitions are so important.

But European football has always played a huge part in the club’s history and games like this one can really get the blood pumping for the players and the supporters.

It has always been great for players to represent Rangers in Europe and it was certainly something I was proud to do during my days at Ibrox.

You can always look back on big European nights and remember the atmosphere and the famous wins.

So this game is a chance for Rangers to make it count. It is no use saying you played in these fixtures, you want to say that you have won these fixtures.

There is a real feelgood factor around Rangers are present after some of the results and performances recently, including the win against Hearts in the Betfred Cup, and the challenge for the players is to keep that going and keep that building.

There are two games - at home to Porto and away to Livingston - before the international break and what a boost it would be to win both.