Ibrox Noise has not yet discussed Rangers’ Europa League Third Round qualifier v Jagiellonia Białystok of Poland, which takes place early next month.
The third-placed Polish Ekstraklasa side are no slouches at all. The Polish top flight is no weak division, with such sides as Antonio Colak’s Legia Warsaw and Lech Poznan among its roster.
It’s also worth pointing out that Jagiellonia lost out on second and Champions League by a mere technicality. They finished joint on points with Gornik Zabrze at 56.
In short, it’s a tricky one for Derek McInnes’ men to deal with. It’s pretty clear the team is a wee bit off being ready for this one.
Indeed our Polish rivals haven’t actually lost a match of football since April, and that’s one loss in 13, even if that does include summer friendlies. Rangers v Jagiellonia Białystok won’t be easy.
We won’t lie and say we’re hugely familiar with them. But we do know the Ekstraklasa has an abundance of talent and a lot of teams in it.
This is not a tie we’d have expected in the Europa League, but would have more likely been Champions League opponents in a different universe.
Their squad value is modest, only rated around £20M total by transfermarkt. And they don’t really have major asset players either.
Afimico Pululu was their star last season but left this summer at the expiry of his deal. So he’s one less problem to deal with.
Rangers’ defence isn’t exactly well-prepared for this one, but thankfully we have over two weeks before the first leg.
Hopefully the squad will be much better placed to make a good fist of a tough tie like this one.