Glory nights in Europe are just fantastic – but Rangers’ Connor Goldson needs to lift a trophy

Connor Goldson says Rangers are now playing in Europe without any fear.

But the defender admits there is still one thing nagging away at the Ibrox men.

They need to win a trophy – and he has vowed to lift silverware before he leaves the club.

The Light Blues enjoyed another memorable Europa League result on Thursday night when they beat Galatasaray 2-1 to reach the group stage of the competition for the third successive season.

They will now take on Benfica, Standard Liege and Lech Poznan.

Supporters love watching their favourites take on glamorous Continental opposition.

But most would probably swap that for the sight of domestic trophies returning to the Ibrox trophy room.

Goldson has been part of the side that has now gone 19 qualifying games without defeat.

He said: “The last couple of years have helped us gain a lot of experience in Europe – even the tough qualifying rounds we’ve faced.

“We’ve managed to reach the group stage again, and hopefully we can go as far as we did last season, if not further.

“No team would have wanted to get us in the draw.

“If you look at Pot 3, where we were, obviously AC Milan were in there. But not many teams would have wanted to come to Ibrox after what we’ve done in the last few seasons.

“We’re up against good opposition in the group, but nothing that we’ll fear.

“We’ll go into it with real belief.

“Last season, Bayer Leverkusen proved to be a tough ask in the last 16. It was a step too far for us.

“But we’ve proved ourselves against some really good sides, and the first step is to get into the knock-out phase.”

The former Brighton defender says things have changed dramatically at Ibrox since he joined in the summer of 2018.

He went on: “If you look at the squad Rangers have now compared to my first pre-season in Marbella, it’s chalk and cheese.

“I think the manager’s name has brought a lot of players to Rangers because they want to work under him, and play for him.

“He has improved this club massively, but we still need to go on and win things. So that’s the main aim this season.

“We’re not getting carried away.”

Rangers have been particularly impressive in defence this term.

They set a new Scottish record, going back 114 years, by starting the league season with seven successive clean sheets in the league.

The defensive partnership of Goldson and Filip Helander is looking stronger with every passing week.

27-year-old Goldson added: “The partnership has been really good with Filip.

“I thought it started well last year, and we were just starting to adapt to each other. We were keeping clean sheets, but then he got injured.

“Fortunately, he has come back strongly this season and we look solid at the back.

“Hopefully, Filip can now stay injury-free, and we can have a long partnership together.

“We can forge a real partnership here, long-term, that can get success by winning trophies. That’s what we all want.

“I don’t want to ever leave this football club without winning anything.”

Playing to Goldson’s right every week is club captain James Tavernier, a player who keeps bouncing back to defy his critics.

Seven goals in the last seven games is a remarkable return for a full-back.

Goldson argues that his friend’s contribution is often overlooked.

He said: “Tav is massive for Rangers. He’s the captain, and I don’t think this club appreciates what he has given to it.

“If you look at his stats, he’s got over 250 games, 50 goals from right-back and I don’t know how many assists.

“He’s always going to come under criticism because if you play that many games as a defender, you’re going to make a mistake every now and then.

“That’s only human. The best defenders in the world make mistakes.

“So I think Tav gets unfair criticism at times. The club is lucky to have him

“We have a really good relationship on the pitch. We keep each other right.

“I knew him already when he was on loan at Shrewsbury as a youngster, so he was the first person to welcome me to Rangers.

“We stay close and our girlfriends are close. We spend time together away from football.

“And we’re both desperate to win things here. We feel we’re in the prime of our careers.

“We’re at a stage now where we have to win, so hopefully this year is a big one for both of us.”