THE road to recovery has been a long and winding one for Rangers. It is a journey Borna Barisic now believes has been completed.
A decade on from those dark days of the Third Division, Rangers have reached the light at the end of the tunnel and are a Champions League club and team once again.
Barisic arrived at Ibrox midway through that process. Over the last four years, he has played his part as titles and cups have been won and the Europa League final was reached.
New heights have now been scaled, though. Victory over PSV Eindhoven on Wednesday evening was remarkable and the group stages now await for Giovanni van Bronckhorst's side.
The matches with Ajax, Liverpool and Napoli offer reasons to be optimistic and excited. The challenges will test Rangers, but they are ones to savour rather than fear.
And Barisic knows all too well what the feat means on so many levels now that Champions League football will return to Ibrox once again.
"It is unbelievable," Barisic said. "It is an unbelievable achievement for the club, for the fans and for the team.
"It is our first time together qualifying for the Champions League after four years here. After last year, it is unbelievable. We have been to the Europa League final and now into the Champions League.
"We beat a very good side in PSV and we are very happy and very proud of this team.
"It is one of the best moments in my career for sure. When I look back on what I have achieved here over the last four years with Rangers it is unbelievable.
"Now we have Champions League and I don’t know what to say. I am speechless. And so proud of the boys. I am very happy for the club to be back in the Champions League and where we belong.
"It is a huge achievement. I am very happy.
"To do what Rangers have done – and I am not talking about myself or the players but the club – is incredible.
"We won the league, got to the Europa League final and are now in the Champions League after ten years of hard work and dropping to the fourth league.
"It is huge for the club and for the people at the club to have days like this. Everyone has given 100 per cent and in a few years we have achieved what we have achieved.
"We should be proud, we should be proud. I agree with the manager, he has brought Rangers back to where we belong."
The run to Seville saw Rangers defy the odds and punch above their weight before their shot at glory ended in agony against Eintracht Frankfurt.
The performance and result in the Philips Stadion was the latest to add to an illustrious list as a second half strike from Antonio Colak proved enough to see off Ruud van Nistelrooy's side.
That famous music will ring round Ibrox once again. And Rangers have good reason to relish what lies ahead in Group A.
Barisic said: "It will be unbelievable. The Champions League anthem is something that you want in your career.
"I heard it at Ibrox last week and now we will hear it again. It is a great achievement and very good for us.
"We showed it against Dortmund and Leipzig last year but the Champions League is a different level. I am very happy for us to qualify.
"It will be hard, for sure, but it is the Champions League and it is the best teams in the world. We are part of that and we are very happy and very proud.
"It will give us a lot of confidence, of course, and PSV are a very good team. They have quality players and players that when you beat them, you deserve it.
"It will give us a lot of confidence. It is not just hunger and passion from us, it is also football quality and good players. We are a quality team and that is what we showed."
