Rangers have regressed massively and need three transfer windows to get things right, says Ally McCoist after Europa League loss to Roma

Rangers' European woes continued as they were beaten 2-0 by Roma at Ibrox in the UEFA Europa League on Thursday evening. The result leaves them rooted to the bottom of the 36-team table. Rangers are without a Europa League point, with Braga up next here later this month, and TNT Sports pundits Ally McCoist and Alan Hutton reflected on the gulf in class.

Highlights: Rangers suffer record seventh straight European defeat

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Rangers have regressed at an alarming rate and will require major surgery across several transfer windows, according to TNT Sports pundit and former striker Ally McCoist.

The Ibrox club's miserable start to their UEFA Europa League campaign continued on Thursday night as they were beaten for a fourth time in a row, with Roma securing a routine 2-0 victory thanks to first-half goals from Matias Soule and Lorenzo Pellegrini.

In all competitions, Rangers have suffered eight defeats so far in the 2025/26 season, while they have lost seven games on the bounce in Europe this term - including qualifiers - by an aggregate score of 19-3.

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"Rangers have regressed massively," McCoist told TNT Sports. "Forget one transfer window for Rangers, it might be three.

"It's a big job. A big, big job. That's the worrying thing.

"Roma are obviously too good for the Rangers team. A lot of physicality has gone out of the Rangers team, whether it's Cyriel Dessers or Leon Balogun. These boys were physical. When you get rid of Hamza Igamane, Dessers, and lose Vaclav Cerny, that's 60-odd goals out of the team.

'Regressed massively' - McCoist, Hutton on 'alarming' situation at Rangers

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"So you've got to replace that. Your recruitment has to replace those goals lost, and it's been very, very poor. I'm not sure that the players to have left Rangers have been replaced by anyone who is better.

"It's easy to forget, this club was in a European final three or four years ago. This side now is unrecognisable. I don't take any pleasure in saying it, but you've got to tell the truth."

"The young fella [Youssef Chermiti] is miles off it at this moment in time. Miles off it. There have been signs with Chermiti, but he just needs to start finding the net and doing it on a regular basis. He needs to do it quickly.

"The Rangers players don't have enough confidence or aggression. You can make it difficult or intimidating for the opposition, but the current squad lacks that. It lacks one or two things, but it certainly lacks the ability to scare the opposition. Set pieces are such an important part of the game, as we saw with Roma's first goal, and you have to have a physical part to your game."

Hutton: Rangers crying out for big help in January

Rangers were quarter-finalists in this competition last season, but currently sit bottom of the 36-team league, having mustered zero points, with an inferior goal difference to Ligue 1 club Nice, the only other side yet to collect a point.

The result means Rangers have lost 10 European games in 2025. Another damning statistic is that they have conceded the opening goal in five consecutive major European matches.

'Can't happen!' - Roma 'carve' open Rangers for quick-fire double

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"It's alarming," TNT Sports pundit Alan Hutton added. "We've all experienced some amazing nights at Ibrox. When you go away to the lowest-ranked team in the competition, against Brann, you earmark that for three points. They then got beaten quite comfortably.

"There have been green shoots in past league games, but I think tonight they were outclassed by a better, more experienced team. I look at Rangers at this moment in time, they're crying out for help as a squad. January is absolutely massive. Their recruitment hasn't been good enough.

"They've missed leaders, they've missed experience, and they need some real help in January because at times it does look like men versus boys when you're watching them. The ball isn't sticking with the striker; they've not got the runners. It's a really tricky moment for the club."

Rohl: Small details are crucial at this level

Danny Rohl has lost three of his first five games in charge, winning the other two. The Serie A club join Brann and Celtic in dishing out those defeats.

A top-24 finish looks almost impossible, but the former Sheffield Wednesday boss is not giving up, with Braga up next at Ibrox later this month.

"I didn't think there was so much in the game - two times they were clinical," Rohl told TNT Sports. "Until minute 75, we were in the game. But you need the momentum to score, to come back.

Roma deserved to win, admits Rohl as he explains where Rangers 'need to improve'

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"At this level, when you play in the Europa League, it's about the details and the small things. You have to do everything right to beat a team that's near the top of Serie A. It's not easy, and we have to work on that because in the future, we want to win such games at home. More and more, I'm getting an overall impression of what you get from the players - that is helpful for me.

"We spoke about [set pieces] this morning. We knew that they've always had the first post overloaded. In such a game, it's important you are ready for set pieces - we have to work on this. There were moments when we were not sharp enough. We have to make small steps, and our focus now is on Sunday and trying to take three wins in a row in the league."

Rangers have kept a clean sheet in just five of their 23 matches this season.

Goalkeeper Jack Butland added to TNT Sports: "We had chances, they had some too, but not too much apart from those two we gave away way too easily.

"We played better in the second half, but at this level, we are playing against top teams. You get punished if you're not at it, and we weren't at it in the first half. And from there it's a really difficult task."

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