Rangers through to the knock out stages of the UEFA Cup

More than a few Rangers fans will have allowed themselves a wry smirk on Tuesday night, as Celtic celebrated getting through the group stage of the Champions League for the first time. Much like we did last season, they will have said to themselves - the first time ANY Scottish club achieved this feat.

Of course, Celtic won the European Cup in 1967, but it's widely accepted that the Champions League now favours the big clubs from the wealthier leagues, leaving countries like Scotland on the outside looking in.

So in the interests of impartiality, we love fitba would like to congratulate Rangers on their progress in the UEFA Cup. A 2-2 draw with Auxerre was enough to guarantee their involvement in the next round, regardless of the outcome of the final group game.

This might just provide the catalyst to turn Rangers' season. They equalised twice last night, the team demonstrating a pleasing degree of resilience which has been notably lacking up to now. And Paul Le Guen was pragmatic in his team selection, starting with two players - MacGregor and Boyd - whom he has previously shunned.

Scottish teams are starting to learn how to play European football. This can only be good news for the game as a whole.