Alex McLeish reckons it’s now impossible for Rangers and Celtic to reach the knockout stages of the Champions League.
He achieved the feat at Ibrox in 2005-06 against the odds, before they were eventually knocked out by Villarreal. But he fears those days are over due to the financial gulf between Scottish sides and big clubs on the Continent.
Steven Gerrard’s team will be back in the competition next term after securing the league title.
They will enter in the qualifying rounds in August but Big Eck insists they would be worthy, as Scottish champions, of going straight into the groups.
And ex-gaffer McLeish believes Gers will need a miracle to get out of their group if they get there.
The former Scotland boss says he can’t wait to see Gerrard lead his team into the game’s biggest club competition.
But McLeish said: “The Champions League is obviously prone to making changes now.
“One of them should be to make sure that all the clubs who won their league have a bigger say in getting there. Is it possible for Rangers now to do what we did in 2006 and get to the last-16? I think it is becoming increasingly impossible looking.
“We know that sometimes you can get to that level.
“But the smart money is not on Rangers and Celtic making it to those stages any more because of the financial weight of other clubs and their ability to sign the top players.
“It’s amazing when you walk down the Ibrox tunnel and hear that Champions League tune.
“It’s a competition that’s been here for a long time and it would be a travesty if teams didn’t qualify for it, despite winning their own leagues.
“To see Rangers appearing in it and hearing that tune again will be music to everyone’s ears.”
