RANGERS CONFIDENTIAL: The shocking piece of unwanted history just 90 minutes away… and the Barcelona legend who came close to strutting his stuff at Ibrox

As if these last few weeks haven’t been humiliating enough for Rangers, along comes the prospect of another indignity, one that would underline just how bad they have been this season.

If they lose the second leg of their forthcoming Europa League round-of-16 tie against Fenerbahce, it will be the first time since the club was founded in 1872 that they have been beaten in four consecutive home games.

Over the course of 153 years, a club of Rangers’ stature might be expected to lose a few on the bounce, especially if an unkind fixture list puts together a sequence that includes European games and perhaps an Old Firm derby.

But the three straight games they have lost at Ibrox in recent weeks have been against Queen’s Park, St Mirren and Motherwell. 

On the back of that embarrassing sequence, they could do without an on-form Turkish giant visiting Govan.

The first leg will be in Istanbul this evening, but with no domestic game this weekend, the second leg is Rangers’ next home match. 

It is an intimidating prospect for interim manager Barry Ferguson, who is finding out that the problems at Ibrox are deeper than even he anticipated.

Assuming Fenerbahce manager Jose Mourinho, accused of racism by rivals Galatasaray, is not distracted by the resulting legal row, he is fully expected to make the most of his resources and ease past his Scottish opponents.

While Fenerbahce finished 24th in the Europa League table and scraped into the last 16 courtesy of a play-off victory against Anderlecht, they are on an 18-match unbeaten run in all competitions.

Rangers have played their best football in Europe this season, but that was before the implosion that cost Philippe Clement his job and created the void that Ferguson is trying desperately to fill. 

This fragile Rangers team, bereft of confidence and quality, have a formidable challenge ahead of them.

The Spain and Barca icon who McLeish tried to sign

To Scottish football’s long list of transfer coups that never quite came off can be added Andres Iniesta, who has revealed that a loan move to Rangers was touted early in his career.

In an interview with FourFourTwo, the iconic Spanish midfielder — who won four Champions League titles with Barcelona — said that a temporary transfer to Ibrox was mooted when he was still in his teens.

The year was 2004 and the Rangers manager was Alex McLeish, who hoped that Iniesta, only just emerging from Barcelona’s La Masia academy, might be persuaded to serve an apprenticeship in Scotland.

Lionel Messi was reported to be another potential target, but the Barcelona manager, Frank Rijkaard, fast-tracked both precocious talents into the club’s first team and neither looked back.

As well as enjoying multiple club successes in Europe, Iniesta won two European Championships with Spain and lifted the 2010 World Cup. Let’s just say he is not haunted by what might have been at Ibrox.

‘Early in my career, I’m told there was some talk about Rangers trying to sign me on loan, but I don’t remember it clearly,’ he said. ‘I’m not sure if they ever directly contacted my father or my agent.

‘What I can say is that I never seriously considered leaving the club. Not at the beginning, nor later. I always had confidence I would succeed at Barca and never entertained the idea of going on loan.’

Ah well, another near miss to go along with Johan Cruyff, who turned down a move to Dumbarton in his old age. And a young Ronaldinho, who is said to have been denied a loan spell at St Mirren by visa issues. Nor should we forget Diego Maradona junior, who showed up at Dunfermline Athletic in 2004, only to think better of it.

To be fair on Rangers, they would not have been an unrealistic destination for the likes of Iniesta at that early stage of his career. Over the years, the Ibrox club have attracted a number of world-class players to these shores, from Paul Gascoigne and Brian Laudrup to Ronald De Boer and Claudia Caniggia.

But Iniesta, the most decorated Spanish footballer in history, wasn’t to be.

Kelly stands firm behind his glove rival 

Liam Kelly has insisted he will be giving his full support to Rangers No 1 Jack Butland as he aims to bounce back from yet another howler in the weekend’s home defeat to Motherwell.

Reserve keeper Kelly stepped into the fray earlier in the year when Butland was ruled out thanks to internal bleeding his leg and kept a clean sheet in a resounding Old Firm win over Celtic at Ibrox.

Butland has since returned to the starting line-up but is enduring a difficult campaign and found himself under the spotlight again last weekend when blundering badly at Motherwell’s opener in his side’s 2-1 home defeat.

The one-time England cap spilled a trundler from visiting centre-back Dan Casey to allow Luke Armstrong to score from close-range and has come under criticism in recent times thanks to a number of errors, such as punching the ball into his own net in the Europa League defeat away to Manchester United at Old Trafford.

Kelly, however, insists the Goalkeepers’ Union remains strong at Ibrox and wants to make it clear that he is 100 per cent behind his team-mate as he bids to rediscover his best form.

‘Keeping a clean sheet in an Old Firm derby game at New Year was a dream day,’ he told official club media. ‘I know how well Jack has done for the club and I have been in the game a long time now to know how things work.

‘I had to take my opportunity. I loved my run in the team and, if I get another run like that, I will love it again, but Jack has my full support as well.

‘I love working with Jack, Mason (Munn) and Bud (Lewis Budinauckas) in training every day and I think the goalkeeping department is in a really strong place.

‘I know how to prepare and I’m always ready to play in an instant. Jack could go down with an injury, so I am always ready to go.’

Rice keen to learn from Queen’s Park experience 

Bailey Rice has broken his silence on the controversial moment that saw him hooked at half-time during Rangers’ disastrous Scottish Cup loss to Queen’s Park — and accepted he has to raise his standards from that fateful afternoon.

Former Ibrox manager Philippe Clement was widely criticised for replacing the 18-year-old midfielder with Nico Raskin at the interval with the scoreline goalless — with one-time Light Blues captain Craig Moore insisting Rice was ‘hung out to dry’.

Clement felt the need to explain afterwards that he had spoken to Rice and explained the decision to remove him from the play was made because he had not been making the forward passes he specialises in.

Rice has not been seen in Rangers’ last four matches and has to prove himself all over again under interim manager Barry Ferguson, but insists his spirit has not been crushed by that Queen’s Park defeat and its aftermath.

‘I got a wee spell there when I got some minutes and the start against Queen’s Park, but I would have liked to have done better,’ he said. ‘I can learn from that.

‘I am just working hard to get that platform and show the fans and the manager what I can do. I feel I have got a lot more to give.

‘I feel like I have taken good steps this year. Moving into the first-team dressing room, I just feel more a part of the squad and more of a team-mate instead of a young boy coming up.’

Rice knows he faces competition in central midfield from the likes of Mohamed Diomande and Raskin, but believes he can learn a lot from that pair as he works towards rivalling them for a place.

He told the Rangers match programme: ‘They are my team-mates, but, at the end of the day, we are all here to play football for Rangers.

‘Nico is playing in the “six” role just now, but I just look at their game, what they are doing and see what I can add to my game. Doing that will, hopefully, give me the best opportunity.’

Rangers can take heart from crucial draw

If Rangers go on to win the SWPL title by the narrowest of margins, they will have cause to reflect on the importance of last weekend’s draw with Hearts.

While a share of the spoils at Broadwood was bad news for their championship hopes, it could have been much worse for Jo Potter’s side.

Two goals down at the interval, they were well on course for their first defeat of 2025 until a courageous fightback earned them what could be a priceless point.

In particular, they will be grateful to young substitute Laura Berry, who came on 10 minutes into the second half and turned the game.

The 17-year-old striker pulled one back with a near-post shot before providing the cross from which Rio Hardy equalised.

Berry, who spent the first half of the season on loan to Motherwell, did more than most to ensure that Rangers avoided defeat.

The result leaves them in third place, two points behind Glasgow City and Hibs, who beat Motherwell and Celtic respectively.

While Potter was frustrated with an ‘unacceptable’ first-half performance, she was encouraged by the response and convinced that it may yet be crucial.

With just three points separating the top four teams, there are likely to be plenty more twists in a title run-in that has every chance of going to the wire.

‘If you had asked me at half time, I would have snapped your hand off for a point,’ said Potter. ‘We looked dead and buried at 45 minutes. We looked way off it and nowhere near getting in the game.

‘We did really well to turn that around and try and push and change the outcome of the game. I am hoping that point will be a big one come the end of the season.’

Young fans can lap up Ibrox experience

Young Rangers fans have been offered the chance to run a lap of the Ibrox pitch for every year of their life — and raise funds for good causes.

The Rangers Charity Foundation are staging an event on Saturday, April 12 in which youngsters from six to 16 are challenged to race as many laps of the field as their age — with family and friends watching on from the stand.

Every participant who raises more than £150 will also be invited to a special event to receive a medal from a first-team player.

Anyone interested can sign up at www.rangerscharity.org.uk with registration costing £15.95.