Rangers march on towards the promised land

Rangers are through to the last 16 of the UEFA Cup, after an ultimately comfortable victory over Hapoel Tel Aviv at Ibrox. The tie finished 5-2 on aggregate, with Rangers scoring 4 at Ibrox to overturn a 2-1 deficit from the 1st leg.

Yet the result represents so much more than just progress in Europe's second cup competition. In many ways, Rangers have now firmly put the turmoil of the first half of the season to bed. But they have also realised that their much vaunted campaign against bigotry has some way to go.

The one positive from Paul Le Guen's brief tenure was the club's progress in this competition. By parting with their French manager in January, the danger was that the momentum gained in the UEFA Cup would grind to a halt as Rangers focused on rebuilding their domestic reputation. By getting through this round, though, anything that happens from here on in the UEFA Cup is a bonus. Walter Smith has shown that he, too, can cope with the demands of European competition.

More startling, though, is the transformation of Barry Ferguson. When Le Guen instructed his captain to play further up the pitch, where his passing and vision could cause more damage to the opposition, Ferguson openly rebelled, chasing the ball deep into his own half and pulling the team out of shape as he did so. A furious Le Guen dropped him, removed the captaincy, and issued a he goes or I go ultimatum. And lost. When Smith asked Ferguson to do the same on Thursday night, he turned in a Man of the Match performance, plundered a brace of goals, and played with a smile on his face.

Nothing better demonstrates the subtle nuances of football management - it is not simply about getting the tactics right, but also about man management, communication and creating the right atmosphere. Put simply, Smith knows how to get the best out of Ferguson. Le Guen did not.

Their reward is a last-16 tie against Osasuna. It was characterised by the BBC interviewer last night as a "massive tie", but only in the sense that it will test Rangers to the limit. With all due respect, Osasuna do not represent the glamour and prestige that Rangers seek to restore their self-image. If they get through, maybe that will come in the next round, where they would crave an appointment with Newcastle.

Yet Smith will know that further progress is not guaranteed. Rangers have been getting impressive results in the SPL, and the final scoreline here was emphatic, but Hapoel - hardly a "big" team themselves - threatened frequently throughout the game. With a more incisive attack, Rangers could have got punished last night. There is much work still to be done on improving this Ibrox side.

Their is work to be done off the field, too. Rangers escaped sanction from UEFA for the behaviour of some of their fans in the first leg in Israel, who were alleged to be making Nazi salutes. UEFA accepted the explanation that they were, in fact, making Red Hand of Ulster salutes. Not that such a thing exists, at least not in Ulster. The photgraphic evidence (try here: http://i18.tinypic.com/3zu44ec.jpg ) might not be enough to convict, but is a deeply unpleasant sight.

Rangers has a facist, right-wing following, however much of a minority they may be. Pretending otherwise does nothing to banish bigotry and racism from the club.