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In the end, the departure of the Champions League from our lives was a mercy. 

In the stadium, such sentiment hung in the air tangibly. Anger was largely absent, apathy now the overriding emotion around the old stadium as nearly 50,000 souls shuffled home with quiet frustration.

The tournament coming to an end with the sixth straight defeat of the campaign was a bruising reminder of where Rangers are in the context of European royalty. Six defeats, 22 goals lost and only two scored tells the entire story. It means Giovanni van Bronckhorst had overseen the worst campaign in the history of the tournament. The only thing you can say in anything approaching mitigation is that, given the ever-widening disparity between the haves and have nots of European football, it seems unlikely to be a record that stands.

That a Scottish Premiership team had struggles against Napoli, Ajax and Liverpool is surely no surprise but the nature of the team's fraught examination was a gut punch that landed cleanly. Fans, club and manager may not be on the canvas, but whether they have the grit to get up and return to the fight remains to be seen.

Defeat against such sides was always going to be the likely outcome, but the manner felt too easy by half for most of 540 minutes against some of the continent's most storied teams.

There's no doubt it's harmed both body and soul. The team was not the same one that strode out into the crisp spring air with the swagger that saw them put the likes of Dortmund, Braga, Red Star and RB Leipzig to the sword in this same calendar year.

There are multiple reasons for that. Few have pointed out the most obvious ones - that two players worth £35m have departed the squad and with them a huge amount of the pace and physicality that made Rangers such a tough nut to crack. Guys with the quality of Calvin Bassey and Joe Aribo simply can't be replaced like for like on a budget. 

Factor in an embarrassingly diminished Alfredo Morelos (the fault of the player rather than the club) and you have the backbone of a team ripped out.

And that's not to say they would have been certain to make a difference, such is the chasm between the Europa League and the true big boys in the tournament up.

So where now? Rangers simply have to lick their wounds and vow to bounce back stronger next year. They have two transfer windows to reshape the squad. You will be hard-pressed to find someone who doesn't feel it's very much needed. But in the here and now there are three games in a week to deal with. Full points is a must. 

The fixture gods have been kind. While St Johnstone, Hearts and St Mirren won't be easy, they are eminently winnable for a squad with Rangers' quality.

And doing so will be much more simple for having a road map. Simply follow the path already established in the stunning performance against Aberdeen at Ibrox last weekend.

Flushed with attacking intent, it was this team at its very best. More of the same will see nine points delivered ahead of the World Cup break and the opportunity to bring back some of the talent currently out due to injury. Easier said than done of course, but it's the only way to banish the Champions League blues and move forward into the World Cup break in solid shape to attack the second half of the season.

This piece is an extract from today’s Rangers Insider newsletter, which is emailed out at 4pm every weekday with a round-up of the day's top stories and exclusive analysis from the Rangers Review team.

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