Are Rangers great or just fucking lucky?

Rangers are into a European semi-final for the first time since 1972 after their second leg win over Sporting Lisbon tonight. Ok, it's the UEFA Cup, not the big one, but still... nae bad for poor wee Scotland, eh?

For an outsider, it looks like a club from one of the poorer leagues in Europe heroically over-coming the odds and sticking it to the big boys. But to those of us who've actually watched them this season, its seems inexplicable. They eventually won 2-0 this evening, but for the first hour Rangers were being battered by a visibly superior team. Then Jean-Claude Darcheville scored an (admittedly fine) break-away goal, and the ITV commentary started talking about a famous mugging. Needing 2 goals, Sporting poured forward, created plenty of chances, but couldn't score. Then substitute Steven Whittaker danced through a tired defence and scored another.

So Rangers are lucky, and they've had their fair share of luck all season, from the last Old Firm game to countless other matches throughout the season. They've frequently played poorly and with little guile, yet managed to put away their chances and keep the opposition out. They turned in possibly their worst performance in 10 years at Easter Road in December, for example, yet had the fortune to face a leaderless Hibs who played even worse.

Yet there is more to it than that. Firstly, Walter Smith has built a big squad that has a bit of talent but a lot of experience. People like Barry Ferguson, David Weir and Christian Dailly have seen it all, while Carlos Cuellar really deserves to be Scottish Player of the Year. But there is also the Uncle Watty and Super Ally show - the managerial duo have got the magic ingredient to making Rangers tick, all right.

First of all, Uncle Watty employs his familiar tactics... five across midfield, centre backs at full back, that sort of thing. Rangers are hard to break down. And then there is the Rangers affect... the boss and his sidekick are both confirmed bluenoses, and they've ensured the rest of the squad are too. The players seem willing to run through walls for the cause... and as the results have come in, the commitment has increased, keeping the run going. It's been a virtuous circle of Proddy graft (that's not sectarian, by the way) and a sense of grievance that this club went for two seasons without a single trophy.

How long will it last? Well, thanks to their extended European and domestic cup adventures, plus a catalogue of postponed fixtures, Rangers now face an immense backlog of matches that will test that squad and those tactics to the limit.

Well, it will if Celtic turn up for the final two Old Firm games. And if not them, surely Fiorentina will prove too much, with Barry Ferguson and Kevin Thomson (two thirds of the first choice midfield) suspended.

But then, who knows? If Rangers really are lucky, a quadruple is on the cards.