Steven Davis feels Rangers can use their painful Champions League experiences from last year and turn them into form capable of guaranteeing the SPL champions’ participation in Europe beyond Christmas.
Unirea Urziceni, Stuttgart and Sevilla all left Ibrox with maximum points last season, as the Scottish club finished bottom of Group G with two points gained on their travels to their name.
Sterner opposition lies in prospect this time around with Manchester United and Valencia both in Group C, along with Turkish side Bursaspor. But, despite the battles that lie in wait, Davis believes his team have learned the importance of being just as cautious on their own patch as they are on the road.
“Last year was a real disappointment for us. We looked at the group and we were optimistic going into it and it didn't happen for us,” said Davis.
"We started the campaign well the last time against Stuttgart away and it was the home form that let us down. If you are going to go further in the group, you need to sort out your home form first and foremost so we have to try to get that sorted out.
“You know you are going to get punished at that level for making mistake, especially at home last year. I think people expected us to go out and get results and it's not as easy as that at that level.
“I think our away form in the competition last time, at Stuttgart we got a good result and against Unirea we should have won the game. At home, we just need to be a bit tighter and go on from there.”
Unlike a great deal of his team-mates, Davis has experience of taking on Manchester United from his time with Aston Villa and Fulham. But, despite the English giants appearing, on paper at least, to be streets ahead of Rangers in terms of quality, Davis says he would much rather be testing himself against the best than failing to defeat teams on a level par.
“With the teams we are playing this year, they are games to look forward to,” said the Northern Irish midfielder. “They are going to be a real test for us but they are games the boys are looking forward to playing in.
“It's a very strong group. We've had a tough draw but, at the same time, you want to play against the best in the competition, those are the games you want to play in.
“Manchester United get to the latter stages of the competition every year and Valencia are a strong side even though they lost a couple of players in the summer.
“Bursaspor are a bit of an unknown quantity to us but they are obviously a very good side, having won the Turkish league.”
