It was fitting that Vaclav Cerny was the man who delivered the news his team-mates were anxiously waiting to hear at full-time on Thursday evening.
The Rangers fans — glued to their phones for much of the final 10 minutes as they double-checked results coming in from around the continent — already knew by that stage what the players on the pitch didn’t.
Cerny, who had already left the field to a standing ovation midway through the second half of the 2-1 win over Union Saint-Gilloise, passed on the message to skipper James Tavernier and Co that they had made the top eight and earned their place in the last 16.
While there have been no shortage of standout performers during this impressive European run for Rangers, the on-loan Wolfsburg winger has perhaps been pick of the bunch.
His composed strike, which put Philippe Clement’s side 2-0 up against the Belgians at Ibrox, turned out to be one which ensured the hassle of a two-legged play-off was avoided.
It was the Czech’s fourth goal of the Europa League campaign — his 13th in all competitions — and was dispatched at near enough the exact same spot, just 10 yards out, from where he’d sent the ball into orbit in the opening minutes against Lyon on matchday two.
Rangers would go on to lose 4-1 on that October night. At that time, even the most optimistic fan — or player for that matter — would have been hard pushed to see this successful league-stage conclusion on the horizon.
‘It’s a big one,’ Cerny reflected of the team’s achievement. ‘That’s what we wanted before it all started, and we had some tough opponents. It’s a very, very good achievement to go into the top eight.’
Their reward will come in the shape of a tie in March with either Anderlecht, Bodo/Glimt, FC Twente or Fenerbahce.
Having already secured wins against Malmo, Steaua Bucharest, Olympiacos, Nice and now USG this season — not to mention going toe-to-toe with Spurs and Manchester United — there seems little to fear.
With the Ibrox crowd behind them after their stumbles in the Premiership, Cerny says confidence is high.
‘[The stadium] was crazy again, we enjoyed it,’ said the 27-year-old.
‘You see that many of the opponents we played finished in the top eight as well, which is a good sign, and we should be confident to go through.
‘No one knows [how far we can go this season]. Obviously, we are waiting for the next opponent, and then we see from there.
‘The dream is to go as far as possible. We don’t know who the opponent is going to be, we’re just looking forward to it.’
The challenge for Rangers now is to translate their European form to the domestic front.
It’s hard to put your finger on why they have found it so difficult to do so. European nights are undoubtedly something a little bit special, and bring out the best in Clement’s side.
When it comes to the bread and butter of Scottish football, however, the drop-off in performance has been a head-scratcher.
Rangers go into Sunday’s league visit of Ross County 10 points off the pace of leaders Celtic, who visit Motherwell the same day and have a game in hand at home to Dundee on Wednesday.
In all, Clement’s men have failed to collect maximum points on nine occasions this season. There are plenty of reasons why, but the bottom line is they haven’t been good enough.
It’s a source of frustration for all those associated with the club. Especially when, on their day, Rangers have shown they can compete so well on the continental stage.
Asked if the squad were better suited to European football, Cerny replied: ‘Yeah. Almost every game we’ve played was a good game. I don’t think we had a bad game in Europe this season. We were just well prepared for every single game, I think.
‘We want to do that every game. There are more eyes on those [European] games, obviously, but the mindset is to do this every game.’
Thursday’s result and performance was a welcome boost for Clement, who has come under heavy fire from Rangers fans of late.
Some of the flak has been justified, but a read through the names occupying the bench against USG underlined the problems that have been facing the Belgian.
John Souttar — how Rangers could have done with him lately — made his first appearance since early December in the second half.
True, the subs also included Ross McCausland — replacement for the unfortunate Leon King early on — Tom Lawrence and Liam Kelly, who all have experience of big games under their belts. The rest? Academy products. Exciting prospects, yes, but that’s just it. Prospects.
Zak Lovelace and Paul Nsio played a big part in helping see out a nervy last few minutes against USG. Their efforts in a testing environment should rightly be lauded. But more depth will be required if the club are to keep fighting on multiple fronts over the coming weeks.
Cerny praised his manager’s refusal to let matters outwith his control impact what he does on the training pitch, and believes the boss deserves credit for guiding the club through a tricky period.
‘He’s dealing with pressure every three days, and dealing with it very good,’ said Cerny. ‘As we are, because we play for a big club, and that’s how it should be. That’s normal, and I like the way that we stick together.’
