ANDY HALLIDAY has rebuffed the suggestion another European run could be a disadvantage for Rangers - instead claiming it'd be a "welcome distraction".
The former Ibrox ace - now at Hearts - reckons Rangers will enjoy having European nights throughout the season to split up league matches.
Last night's 3-0 win over Union Saint-Gilloise sets up a Champions League play-off round clash against PSV Eindhoven for a spot in the Champions League group stage.
And even if Rangers fail to progress, they'll still drop into the Europa League group stage.
For Halliday, it's a positive for Rangers - even if it adds to a heavy fixture list.
He told Grosvenor Sport: "Rangers' European run will be a welcome distraction from the pressures of league football.
"The comeback last night wasn't too much of a surprise, the result in Belgium was just a case of Rangers not turning up.
"Rangers would've known that if they'd shown the levels that they have previously in Europe then they were going to turn the deficit around."
On the possible fixture pile-up, Halliday claimed Rangers will be prepared with clubs recruiting to perform throughout long seasons. And he added that Celtic will also face a similar challenge having already earned a Champions League group stage spot.
"Rangers aren't at a disadvantage with the extended cup run," insisted Halliday. "If you look at some of the Rangers players last year, they played upwards of 60 games and were still finishing strong towards the end of the season.
"The fitness of the squad is next level, even worldwide players like Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are very rarely injured and obviously Celtic have the same fixture congestion with the World Cup being so early in the football season. Most teams will have almost 26 games towards the World Cup break.
"Clubs recruit in the summer to cope with fixture congestion and I'm sure the mentioned clubs will feel as though they have done just that."
