Chairman urges Rangers fans to be realistic over European dream
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Your support makes all the difference.The Scottish champions are holding their own after the two opening ties but face Artmedia Bratislava next, and the Slovakian team stunned the Portuguese with a 3-2 win.
Murray has credited manager Alex McLeish for claiming the SPL title and progressing into the European group stages on minimal resources. "In theory, we should have been in the fourth pot this year but we were in the third with the way the fixtures fell," he said. "We hope we will qualify but let's not get carried away, we are in that pot because that is where we should be.
"And, in theory, we should finish third in the group. Any more is a bonus. We have to be realistic and realise we are doing well with the resources we have."
Murray has also offered his support to McLeish despite a faltering start to the domestic campaign. Rangers are 11 points behind leaders Hearts and struggled to defeat Clyde of the First Division in the CIS Insurance Cup third round.
"In Scotland, I think we are very quick to criticise and sometimes that seems to make a better headline than winning things. But, as I have said to Alex, as long as I believe he is getting the best out of the squad, that is good enough for me."
McLeish feels that he has finally solved his defensive problems after weeks of searching for his best system. After trying a back three against Hearts - when they lost - McLeish returned to a more familiar shape for the match against Inter and opted for a central defensive partnership of Julien Rodriguez and Sotirios Kyrgiakos, flanked by Fernando Ricksen and Olivier Bernard.
Marvin Andrews and Jose-Karl Pierre Fanfan missed out but Kyrgiakos was back to the top form he displayed last season, while Rodriguez finally showed why he got to the Champions' League final with Monaco in 2003.
"The back four were excellent," the Rangers manager said. "Rodriguez had a terrific game and showed all his Champions' League and French league experience. Kyrgiakos had a decent game and he is looking a lot fitter now.
"It does take time for players to settle in and I was a little bit unsure over the past few weeks what the best partnership was. I won't make any sweeping statements but I thought the back four did well."
The game was played in the eerie surroundings of an almost empty San Siro after the behaviour of Inter fans in last year's quarter-final against Milan earned the club a European crowd ban. Undeterred, a band of supporters gathered outside the stadium and their chants filtered through into the vast arena.
McLeish admits he hoped Rangers would gain the advantage from the unusual situation but believes the lack of fans had little effect on the outcome.
"I thought the empty stadium would maybe affect Inter Milan," he said. "We saw in the last game at Ibrox against Porto how the fans are roaring and it definitely gives the players an injection. But they had a few players trying to impress the manager in their quest for a game every week."
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