Rangers boss Giovanni van Bronkhorst has been handed a big lift at Ibrox ahead of next season's Champions League...

What's the talk?

A decision has now been made that will have big implications for teams in Scotland and Rangers specifically as it directly impacts how they will be able to qualify for the Champions League next term.

Indeed, The Scotsman have reported that UEFA has now decided to ban all teams in Russia from European competitions for the 2022/23 campaign.

For starters, the champions of the Premiership will gain automatic qualification for the competition, with Rangers currently sitting six points behind their rivals in the table.

Secondly, the runners-up in the Scottish top-flight will now enter into the third qualification round, instead of the second, next term.

Van Bronckhorst will be delighted

The Ibrox giants head coach will surely be delighted with this news as it is a huge boost to his side heading into next season.

This change to the qualification rules means that the Gers have a better chance of making the group stages of the Champions League as they will not have to play the first two games that they would have otherwise had to play.

They are set to skip the second round, assuming they finish second in the Premiership and do not win the Europa League, and van Bronckhorst will be buzzing with that. Not only does it increase their chances of qualifying, as it removes the possibility of them being knocked out before the third stage, but it also means that his players have two fewer games to deal with.

Rangers will, therefore, have a smaller risk of burning their players out as they will save, at least, 180 minutes of football in the early parts of 2022/23. The head coach will be delighted by this as it will keep his players fresh and fit to compete on all fronts next season, with the Gers potentially competing in the Champions League, Premiership and both domestic cups.

Although, it is worth stressing that Rangers can still qualify for the group stages of Europe's premier competition without needing to go through the qualifying rounds. If they are able to overturn their 1-0 deficit against RB Leipzig on Thursday and then win in the final of the Europa League then they will follow the winners of the Premiership into the tournament at the same stage.

AND in other news, Rangers played an Ibrox blinder with £22k-pw "cornerstone" who's like "Graeme Souness"...