McCulloch: Exciting times for Rangers

RANGERS forward Lee McCulloch believes his club are on the brink of something special after helping them record one of the best results in their history.

The Gers’ superb start to the season continued on Tuesday night when they ripped Lyon apart in a smash-and-grab Champions League raid in the Rhone-Alps region.

The unexpected — but fully-deserved — 3-0 win at the Stade Gerland moves Walter Smith’s side a step closer to a place in the tournament’s knockout stages for the second time in three years. They have beaten both the French and German champions in the space of a fortnight and sit level on points with Celtic at the top of the Clydesdale Bank Premier League — all with a reconstructed team thrown together by Smith in a chaotic Ibrox summer.

McCulloch is one of the many newcomers at the Glasgow club, and scored the opener against Les Gones last night.

The close-season signing from Wigan is relishing the upcoming double-header against Barcelona, and feels results such as an away win at Lyon prove Rangers are ready to hit the big time.

The Scotland international told PA Sport: “Everyone is delighted with how we are doing. It’s six points out of six and we have got Barcelona back to back coming up.

“It’s going to be very difficult and it’s important we don’t get carried away. But these are exciting times for us.

“The quality of the squad, even the players who were on the bench or in the stand here, is brilliant.

“We are going to need everybody to pull together. We have a great team spirit, and I think that shows on the pitch as well.

“It hasn’t surprised me how quickly we have settled in. The bulk of the new signings are Scottish and they are all getting on well,” he said.

Rangers are coping admirably in a pool originally dubbed the “Group of Death”.

Reaching the 10-point mark is usually the target for clubs wishing to advance into the knockout stages, and the Light Blues are almost there already.

“We are going to enjoy this but we are more concerned with qualification,” McCulloch added.

“Everyone’s talking about that now but it is still a long way away.

“There’s lots of football to be played, and lots of points to be won and lost so we will see what happens.

“As long as we keep playing like we did against Lyon, we won’t go far wrong.”

McCulloch’s bullet header in the 23rd minute gave Rangers an interval lead before Daniel Cousin and DaMarcus Beasley added further goals at the start of the second half.