Rangers

Martin Dowden
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

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Rangers midfielder Connor Barron believes they are moving in the right direction under Danny Rohl after the 1-1 draw at home to Braga moved them off the bottom of the Europa League table.

Rohl's side failed to take advantage of a one-goal lead and man advantage after James Tavernier's penalty was followed by Rodrigo Zalazar's second-half red card for a headbutt on Nicolas Raskin.

Nasser Djiga's misplaced header gifted Gabri Martinez an equaliser as Rangers arrested a four-game Europa League losing streak in earning their first point of the campaign.

"Obviously disappointed we didn't get the three points, but I thought for large spells in the game we were really good and dealt with the conditions really well," Barron said.

"I felt we got into good areas, but the goal killed us in the end. I see signs of progress there on the pitch, but the feeling is disappointment of course.

"I think we showed something we haven't shown in the previous Europa League games, so we take confidence out of that in terms of our performance.

"But in terms of result we need to go and work on that, and we fully believe that we can.

"We've seen a lot of differences and a lot of improvements. [since Rohl took charge]. I feel like we're playing with a lot more freedom and the boys are taking full advantage of it, but we need to go and pick up results."

Rangers now face having to win their remaining three fixtures to retain any hope of progression, with an away trip to Ferencvaros followed by Ludogorets at home and Porto in Portugal.

"100 per cent the belief's in there to go and do it," Barron said.

"That's our focus, but we've got a game around the corner on Sunday [at home to Falkirk] so full focus is on that.

Pain rather than pride was the first emotion for James Tavernier after an historic night for the Rangers captain on Thursday.

Against Sporting Braga, Tavernier scored his 21st European goal for the club, equaling the mark of Ibrox great Ally McCoist.

However, the opener from the full-back was cancelled out in the second half by the 10-man visitors to leave Rangers on just one point from five games.

"When it all settles down, I'll look back on it and be really proud of it, but ultimately I wanted the three points," 34-year-old Tavernier told Rangers TV.

"If I didn't or did score, I wanted the clean sheet. It hurts, but I'll always try and help the team no matter what.

"As long as we learn from this, and we've shown in the last couple of weeks that we're building more consistency in what we want to do."

Tavernier's first European strike came against FC Shkupi of North Macedonia in July 2018.

While drawing level with McCoist, the Englishman is still eight goals behind Alfredo Morelos, who tops Rangers' continental scoring chart.

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We asked for your views after Rangers got their first Europa League point of the season with a 1-1 draw at home to Braga.

Here are some of your comments:

Ian: There are small improvements in some areas but the strikers are a mile off, all three of them, they don't know how to finish. It's a real problem plus they cannot defend. Danny Rohl has a real job on his hands to get this sorted, we are very shot-shy in front of goal, this is a real concern.

Del: Another calamitous mistake costing us dearly. Rohl taking an industrious and effective Connor Barron off instead of the accident waiting to happen Mohamed Diomande was a big error. Feel for him though as most of this squad should go play another sport.

Louise: Another showcase of our poor recruitment. How do we have an £8m striker who looks afraid of the ball and why was Djeidi Gassama always playing for cheap free-kicks? Once again James Tavernier gets us out of a jam and Jack Butland made some crucial saves - the old guard 'get it', but send the rest back on a one-way ticket. At least it was a point but there was no fight to take three.

Ronnie: Tavernier can say whatever he wants about Rangers still being able to qualify from our group but he just sounds ridiculous. We were gift wrapped a potential three points against Braga and once again we blew it. In fact we were lucky to escape with a point against 10 men. We are simply not good enough.

James: How can the manager keep picking these duds when Cameron and young Findlay Curtis are unused substitutes? Last night proved once again just how bad we are, we were worse against 10 men.

Bob: This is the worst Rangers team I have seen in my lifetime - and I am 70. Apart from Butland and Barron the rest were very poor. No fight, no fire, no passion. I don't agree with Rohl's assessment of last night's game.

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• Rangers have failed to win any of their past four home European games (D1 L3 inc qualifiers). They last endured a longer run at Ibrox between October 2010 and August 2011 (six games).

• James Tavernier struck his 12th goal for Rangers across major European competition (excluding qualifiers) and 21st overall in Europe, equalling the mark of Ally McCoist as second most in the club's history.

• Only Bruno Fernandes (12) has scored more penalties (excluding shootouts) across Europa League history than Rangers skipper James Tavernier (8). The Englishman has an 88.9% conversion rate from the spot in this competition.

• Gabri Martinez netted the second European goal of his career - both have come in this season's Europa League away to Scottish sides after he scored against Celtic in October.

• Rangers have failed to win their past eight games in the Europa League, their last joint longest winless streak was from 24 April 2008 to 20 September 2018.

Rangers earned the first point of their Europa League campaign but will rue a missed opportunity after Nasser Djiga's error denied them victory over 10-man Braga.

You can read the match report here.

Have your say on the game here.

Rangers boss Danny Rohl: "I think it's disappointing but I look at the first 60 minutes. It was the first time I felt my team is competitive in Europe. I think it's a step forward. But in the end we have to win and close the gaps.

"In the second half I felt we controlled the game. And then it's one moment, we made one mistake and conceded a goal. This goal looks very cheap. I'm not looking for excuses in this case. I know in the second half the wind gave a lot of problems.

"We have to improve to play 90 minutes at our highest level.

"You can see the table. We didn't lose the opportunity just today. It's about the last four games as well. 100% quality performance very soon but I've been here for four weeks and for 60 minutes I see a big difference.

"Today I really see the progress in our team performance. There is no question mark that it goes in the right direction. In European competition you cannot make many mistakes and this is something we have to work on.

"For me it's not about the character of the group when I see how hard they work since I'm here, how much effort they put in. There is of course pressure, there is expectation, you have to deliver. I will help them. I try always to be positive because I know the self-confidence of a player is such an important thing. If a player has confidence they will make the right decisions in the right moments."

Caleb Akpo-Young
BBC Sport Scotland

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Three years ago today Michael Beale was appointed Rangers manager, vowing: "I am here to win. That's the most important thing."

Replacing Giovanni Van Bronckhorst, it seemed a natural appointment given Beale was top of the English Championship with QPR and had previously served on the Ibrox coaching staff under title-winning boss Steven Gerrard.

Beale made a promising start to his tenure, winning 13 of his first 14 games, but couldn't wrest the title away from Celtic, who defeated Rangers in the League Cup final and Scottish Cup semis on the way to a treble.

Early defeats the following season put the Englishman under pressure from which he couldn't recover.

Rangers failed to qualify for the Champions League after being demolished 7-3 on aggregate by PSV Eindhoven, then league losses to Celtic and Aberdeen proved to be the final straw as Beale was sacked on 1 October 2023 after 10 months in charge.

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Robbie Neilson predicts a "tough night" for Rangers and their injury-hit defence against a dangerous Braga side in the Europa League.

Shorn of first-choice centre-backs John Souttar and Derek Cornelius, bottom-place Rangers are eyeing their first Europa League points at the fifth attempt.

In contrast to the Ibrox side's struggles, Braga sit fifth with three wins - including a 2-0 victory at Celtic Park - from four outings.

Speaking on the Scottish Football Podcast, former Hearts and Dundee United boss Neilson, who is now Lee Johnson's assistant at Belgian side Lommel, said of Braga: "They're a top, top team. The Portuguese Premier Division is a very good league.

"They've got a lot of pace in their team, a lot trickery in the front line and I think it will be a tough night for Rangers.

"One of the many faults Rangers have is the defensive line and they're going to be against some good players tonight with a lot of pace and a lot of direct running, so I think it will be a tough night.

"The pace and movement Braga have is elite level so I think it will be interesting to see what Danny Rohl does tonight.

"Does he revert to the 5-3-2? Or 5-4-1? Just to try and shore things up a wee bit, especially in the early stage of the game because it's going to be a difficult test?"

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• Rangers have won three of their four previous European meetings with Braga (L1), with all four matches coming in the Europa League in 2019-20 and 2021-22.

• In all European competitions, Braga have lost four of their five away matches against Scottish opponents (W1), though their one win came against Celtic earlier this season in the Europa League. They could be the first team to win away at both Rangers and Celtic in a single European campaign.

• Rangers have lost their past seven European matches, their worst losing run in European competition (including qualifiers). The only Scottish team to lose more in a row were Motherwell between 2010 and 2013 (eight in a row).

• Braga have scored 22 goals in 10 European matches this season (including qualifiers), including three in a 4-3 defeat on matchday four to Genk. Only in 2019-20 (27) have they scored more goals in a single European campaign.

• Braga's Ricardo Horta has more assists than any other player in this season's Europa League (three), assisting those goals in his past two appearances. He has also created the joint most chances (12) of any player.

Rangers head coach Danny Rohl believes Youssef Chermiti is ready to answer his critics after a heart-to-heart talk with the striker. (Record), external

Winger Rabbi Matondo is back in training with Rangers following injury. (Glasgow Times), external

Billy Davies, now in interim charge of Greenock Morton, feels slighted that Kevin Thelwell, sacked this week as Rangers' sporting director, did not respond to his offer of advice about Scottish football when he arrived at Ibrox after giving the Englishman his big break at Preston North End. (Record), external

Hamilton Academical manager Jon Rankin's 15-year-old son, Luca Rankin, has been training with Rangers' first team. (Sun), external

Club Brugge winger Carlos Forbs has revealed he knocked back an approach from Rangers in the summer while with Ajax before moving to the Belgian club and helping thrash the Glasgow side 9-1 on aggregate in Champions League qualifying. (Record), external

Rangers, Celtic and Aberdeen face crunch time on Thursday for Scotland's ailing coefficient. (Scotsman - subscription required), external

Read Thursday's Scottish gossip

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Dujon Sterling has been added to Rangers' Europa League squad after Derek Cornelius was ruled out for at least two months.

Versatile Sterling, who hasn't played since April because of an Achilles injury, is nearing full fitness and played for Rangers Under-19s on Monday.

His return will give Danny Rohl much-needed options at centre-back in the absence of injured pairing John Souttar and Cornelius.

As Rangers prepare for the Europa League visit of Braga on Thursday, head coach Rohl revealed Canada defender Cornelius has undergone surgery on a muscle injury sustained during the recent international break.

"Derek has the surgery in the morning today, that means he will for sure be longer out. Minimum, the end of January, if not longer," said Rohl.

"We put Dujon now on the [European] list. But still, for him, after the first game minutes on Monday, this is a process.

"If you are out six months, it's not easy to be ready straight after one week. But it was a decision also for the next European games to cover this position, then hopefully in the next games."

After four defeats from four, Rangers are bottom of the Europa League table at the halfway stage and seeking their first points against a Braga side who won 2-1 at Celtic Park last month.

"They are well organised, they are very aggressive in how they play football against the ball, they have solutions with the ball, I think they will also come with confidence in this competition," said Rohl.

"But for us as well, it's the next challenge. We know we need points in this competition as well, this is always our goal.

"I want to see tomorrow a next step forward compared to the last two European games. It's important to play without mistakes, to play on the front foot, bring the crowd behind you, try something instead of being passive and just waiting, that's what I want to see from my team tomorrow.

"We have to deliver a proper fight and try to get points."

Rangers midfielder Nico Raskin discusses his "difficult" start to the season where he feared for his Ibrox future amid a fallout with former boss Russell Martin.

Martin Dowden
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

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Rangers head coach Danny Rohl has been speaking to the media before the Europa League home fixture against Sporting Braga.

Here are the key points:

• On the dismissal of chief executive Patrick Stewart and sporting director Kevin Thelwell: "It's always not nice when some people around you get sacked. I had a good relationship with Kevin, with Patrick as well. They were also involved in the process when I arrived here. Now it's about moving forward."

• On the upcoming January transfer window Rohl adds: "There are also still good people around me. They support me. I think this is crucial. I cannot do this alone or can't make decisions alone. I think it's important to understand we have a good structure in the club."

• On whether his assessment of the squad may have played a part in the sackings: "I give my information to the board, to the club, what I think, how I see the situation, how I see the squad at the minute, which parts we have to improve. I think there's no secret."

• He adds: "I think if you have a sporting director, then you have always a link to the board. Now the link is a little bit closer, because you go straight to some situations with Andrew [Cavenagh], but I think he was very clear in this interview during the week, what he expects, what he demands."

• On how January recruitment might work and whether he would now have a bigger say in decisions, the German says: "It's always a decision together. You have to give your honest opinion about players, then there is the financial part, and then you look to other parts as well, and then in the best case you bring all the information on one table, and then in the end you make a decision together and you go in the direction that makes the most sense."

• On the test Rangers face against a Braga side who lie fifth in the Europa League having already beaten Celtic in Glasgow in this campaign, Rohl says: "They are well organised, they are very aggressive, they have solutions with the ball. I think they will also come with confidence, but it's for us as well, a new challenge. We know we need points in this competition."

• Rangers wants a "step forward" from his side, who are are yet to earn a point after four defeats. The German is looking to engage the Ibrox crowd who've been left flat so far in this campaign.

• He adds: "On this level every mistake could be a big mistake. Play without mistakes, but play on the front foot, bring the crowd behind you, try something instead of being passive and just waiting."

• Derek Cornelius had surgery this morning and is expected to be out until at least the end of January.

• John Souttar and Mikey Moore remain sidelined and Dujon Sterling is added back to the European squad but more likely to feature in upcoming games given the length of his absence.

Alasdair Lamont
BBC Sport Scotland Commentator

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Braga come to Glasgow with the chance to become the first team ever to beat Celtic and Rangers away from home in the same European campaign.

So how have they fared since their last trip to Scotland? Pretty well is the answer, though they were somewhat surprisingly beaten on their last Europa League outing, losing 4-3 at home to Genk.

Those were their first dropped points in the competition, though, having added the scalp of Red Star to those of Celtic and Feyenoord, so they're still very handily placed.

Despite only one other defeat since the win at Celtic Park - a far-from-disgraceful 2-1 loss away to Portuguese league leaders Porto - Carlos Vicens' side are rather languishing in seventh place, below lesser-known clubs Gil Vicente, Familicao and Moreirense.

But as witnessed at Celtic Park, they are a useful outfit, with Rodrigo Zalazar, who came on as a substitute in that game, in particularly impressive form, now on 10 goals for the season.

So Rangers will have to up their game to inflict another Ibrox defeat on the Portuguese.

Alasdair Lamont
BBC Sport Scotland Commentator

The sackings of Kevin Thelwell and Patrick Stewart should have taken no one by surprise and yet the timing of their departures seemed to take most people aback.

Would it have been better to act during the international break? Maybe not, but having backed both chief executive and sporting director so vehemently just a month ago, Andrew Cavenagh has finally accepted neither man was carrying out their duties to the standards demanded of them, not least by the club's supporters.

Their shortcomings have been widely discussed and few will quibble with the ultimate decision, but it reintroduces a flux at Ibrox the club could well do without.

It may not have as dramatic an effect on the playing side as a change of manager does, at least in the short term, but what Rangers badly need is stability and although this decision has been taken for the right reasons, there will now need to be yet another period of bedding in new personnel and new ideas.

There are also suggestions these two staff changes will not be the last, while reports of some of Thelwell's summer signings being made available for transfer in January abound as well.

Yet again Rangers find themselves in a position where they will very probably have to take a hit on fees paid for players in order to get them out the door.

Meanwhile, Danny Rohl continues to get results in the league, though the manner of the victory over Livingston was some way short of convincing.

Injuries are also now going to have an impact as he tries to claw back Hearts' and Celtic's advantages, or at least ensure they don't get any bigger before he gets a chance to do some work in the January transfer window.

His immediate focus, though, is trying to get some points on the board in Europe against Braga, who comfortably beat Celtic earlier in the season, before another must-win league encounter against Falkirk at the weekend. Don't expect either of those games to be plain sailing.

Former captain and interim manager Barry Ferguson has not ruled out a return to Rangers as sporting director. (Go Radio Football Show Record, external)

Rangers will explore the feasibility of expanding Ibrox Stadium. (Glasgow Times), external

Read Wednesday's Scottish gossip

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Rangers chairman Andrew Cavenagh showed a "ruthless streak" by sacking chief executive Patrick Stewart and sporting director Kevin Thelwell but faces "huge pressure" to get the appointment of replacements right, according to Rangers Review editor Joshua Barrie.

The journalist told BBC Scotland's Scottish Football Podcast there is "not much they have got right" since the "hope and optimism" around the summer takeover by Cavenagh's US-based consortium.

"Although Andrew Cavenagh doesn't want to make a habit of fronting up to mistakes, it is a positive that he is fronting up to mistakes and owning them instead of getting someone else to do it and staying over the pond in America," Barrie said. "What comes next will define their legacy."

Stewart had been in post since December while Thelwell was lined up several months before his arrival in the summer and the appointment of Russell Martin as head coach.

Of Stewart, Barrie said: "When he arrived, he was seen as this experienced figurehead who should bring to a close an era of off-field drama dominating at Ibrox and I would say it is very arguable that that has only increased."

Martin became so unpopular before his sacking he required a police escort from a match while Stewart and Thelwell were confronted by fans at hotels and were subjected to supporter protests.

"The managerial search shredded any credibility," Barrie said.

"Rangers needed to do two things right this summer - they needed to strengthen the squad and build a new spine to the squad that lacked leadership.

"They spent a lot of money not doing that and got their head coach appointment so dramatically wrong. Ultimately, there needed to be a fall guy for that."

Rangers had missed the opportunity to take advantage of "the weakest Celtic team in some time".

And, although Martin's replacement Danny Rohl "has lifted the mood somewhat", the German had merely done well to get four domestic wins out of players who struggled to beat bottom club Livingston at home at the weekend.

We asked for your views after Rangers sacked chief executive Patrick Stewart and sporting director Kevin Thelwell.

Here's what some of you said:

Marc: Should have happened when Russell Martin was sacked. They've wasted millions on substandard players and £8m of that on a player whose record was suspect.

Steven: Most welcome announcement, but if I'm going to be 'that guy' it smacks a little of the Martin debacle for me. Far too late in making the big decisions that needed to be made. I hope the guys at the top started their due diligence before making this decision - January is fast approaching and Danny Rohl will need support in moving on the flotsam and jetsam that he arrived to and maybe getting some of his own players in.

Andy: Best news since Martin leaving. These two brought nothing but poor quality and weak minds to Rangers. Hopefully their replacements will have a clue and not be another pair of chancers. Hopefully something can be salvaged from a horrible season.

Alain: Christmas come early for Rangers fans! The two of them only succeeded in taking the club backwards with their ridiculous appointments and signings - good riddance!

Alex: This has been inevitable and has taken too long to actually happen. Both appointments have been an absolute disaster for the club and unfortunately their negative impact will be felt for some time.

John: Better late than never, these people have cost the club a lot of money and goodwill of supporters. Let's move on and build a Rangers team to be proud of again.