The Ibrox club are playing in European football’s elite club competition for the first time in 12 years and discovered the harsh reality of their task with a 4-0 loss to Ajax and then a 3-0 loss to Napoli in Govan after which boss Giovanni van Bronckhorst claimed it would take hundreds of millions of pounds to get into the tournament.
Liverpool, who recovered from a 4-1 loss to Napoli in Italy to beat Ajax 2-1 at Anfield, are strong favorites to inflict another Euro defeat on Govan’s side.
However, the 71-year-old former Kop striker and manager, speaking at a recent McDonald’s Fun Football Program event at Hampden Park, noted St Mirren’s 2-0 win over Celtic in Premiership cinch ahead of the international break as he assessed the Light Blues European campaign.
“You stepped in with the big boys,” he said.
“But that doesn’t mean you can’t compete, that doesn’t mean you won’t get a result against them.
“It’s a harsh cry – but it’s also a harsh cry for Liverpool.
“You know, other people have spent a lot of money and been successful, but other people have spent money and not been successful.
“You just have to do your best and make sure that even if you lost, you did your best. There’s nothing (that is) a formality. You can still be upset.
“But a lot has to go your way. If Scottish football had VAR, I think St Mirren’s second would have been offside. So you need a bit of luck.
“But teams that are good get a tiny bit of luck, everyone needs good fortune along the way to succeed.”
Dalglish doesn’t think Rangers can deny Liverpool with a more combative approach.
The former Celtic striker and manager continued: “Not if you have a foreign referee.
“Look what happened with Rangers in the last Champions League game (James Sands sent off), with a foreign referee (Antonio Mateu Lahoz).
“He refereed it like he would in his own country, Spain.
“So you’re not going to get away with it. It’s not like the good old days when it was a lot more physical.
“Yeah, it’s competitive but it’s not as physical as it used to be. So I don’t think it’s a leveler.”
While the start of Rangers’ Champions League campaign was a trying one, there was more encouragement for Old Firm rivals Celtic.
Ange Postecoglou’s side were widely praised for their performance against Real Madrid at Parkhead despite losing 3-0 and they arguably should have scored more than one point in the 1-1 draw with Shakhtar Donetsk in Poland.
Dalglish, who has also managed Blackburn and Newcastle, believes Postecoglou should stick to their attacking strategy.
He said: “If you’re the manager you can only play the way you know best and that’s what he wants to do.
“It’s been such a hit for him. It’s what got him there in the first place, so why change it?
“Go with what you’re happy with and what your players are happy with, unless you can get players to turn around and change the style of play.
“You won’t be able to do that. They are determined in their own way, they control most games.
“Obviously St Mirren – anyone can announce a result like that.
“It’s all credit to St Mirren. Celtic have never played as well as they can or have played. They’ve had a great season so far but this blow has given them a little reminder.”
::Now in its 20th year, the annual Scottish FA Grassroots Awards presented by McDonald’s and the Sunday Mail aim to recognize and reward people across the country who make a difference to grassroots football in their community local.
The Ibrox club are playing in European football’s elite club competition for the first time in 12 years and discovered the harsh reality of their task with a 4-0 loss to Ajax and then a 3-0 loss to Napoli in Govan after which boss Giovanni van Bronckhorst claimed it would take hundreds of millions of pounds to get into the tournament.
Liverpool, who recovered from a 4-1 loss to Napoli in Italy to beat Ajax 2-1 at Anfield, are strong favorites to inflict another Euro defeat on Govan’s side.
However, the 71-year-old former Kop striker and manager, speaking at a recent McDonald’s Fun Football Program event at Hampden Park, noted St Mirren’s 2-0 win over Celtic in Premiership cinch ahead of the international break as he assessed the Light Blues European campaign.
“You stepped in with the big boys,” he said.
“But that doesn’t mean you can’t compete, that doesn’t mean you won’t get a result against them.
“It’s a harsh cry – but it’s also a harsh cry for Liverpool.
“You know, other people have spent a lot of money and been successful, but other people have spent money and not been successful.
“You just have to do your best and make sure that even if you lost, you did your best. There’s nothing (that is) a formality. You can still be upset.
“But a lot has to go your way. If Scottish football had VAR, I think St Mirren’s second would have been offside. So you need a bit of luck.
“But teams that are good get a tiny bit of luck, everyone needs good fortune along the way to succeed.”
Dalglish doesn’t think Rangers can deny Liverpool with a more combative approach.
The former Celtic striker and manager continued: “Not if you have a foreign referee.
“Look what happened with Rangers in the last Champions League game (James Sands sent off), with a foreign referee (Antonio Mateu Lahoz).
“He refereed it like he would in his own country, Spain.
“So you’re not going to get away with it. It’s not like the good old days when it was a lot more physical.
“Yeah, it’s competitive but it’s not as physical as it used to be. So I don’t think it’s a leveler.”
While the start of Rangers’ Champions League campaign was a trying one, there was more encouragement for Old Firm rivals Celtic.
Ange Postecoglou’s side were widely praised for their performance against Real Madrid at Parkhead despite losing 3-0 and they arguably should have scored more than one point in the 1-1 draw with Shakhtar Donetsk in Poland.
Dalglish, who has also managed Blackburn and Newcastle, believes Postecoglou should stick to their attacking strategy.
He said: “If you’re the manager you can only play the way you know best and that’s what he wants to do.
“It’s been such a hit for him. It’s what got him there in the first place, so why change it?
“Go with what you’re happy with and what your players are happy with, unless you can get players to turn around and change the style of play.
“You won’t be able to do that. They are determined in their own way, they control most games.
“Obviously St Mirren – anyone can announce a result like that.
“It’s all credit to St Mirren. Celtic have never played as well as they can or have played. They’ve had a great season so far but this blow has given them a little reminder.”
::Now in its 20th year, the annual Scottish FA Grassroots Awards presented by McDonald’s and the Sunday Mail aim to recognize and reward people across the country who make a difference to grassroots football in their community local.
