THE progress since Progres continues for Rangers. Steven Gerrard restored their pride and now enhances their reputation on the continent.

In each of his three seasons as boss, Gerrard has surpassed what has gone before. From defeat in Luxembourg, Rangers have now finished third, second and first in successive group stage appearances.

The Europa League is the clearest indicator of the work that Gerrard has done and the strides forward that his side have taken. Victory over Lech Poznan was not a surprise, and there will be no fear when the draw for the last 32 is made on Monday.

Gerrard said: "I don’t think we are ready to be named in the same bracket as some of those big powerhouses across Europe.

"We have to focus and concentrate on ourselves. I think our progress and how quickly we are moving forward is clear to see, certainly from a European point of view.

"There were a lot of changes that needed made when we came in because of what had gone on in Europe in terms of not qualifying against part-timers in the first round.

"So to be at this level now and competing and beating teams at this level shows the big steps that we have taken as a group. The challenge now is can we keep building on it? We are looking forward to the draw on Monday.

"We will need a bit of luck, of course we will. But when Europe comes around again in February time we will hopefully have a fit squad and if we do we will be a challenge for whoever we face."

This 2-0 victory in Poland encapsulates where Rangers are at present as Gerrard made seven changes to his side and still saw them emerge victorious as they finished top of Group D.

Cedric Itten and Ianis Hagi made the most of their chances as they grabbed the goals and Gerrard never had any fear about an unfamiliar line-up.

He said: "I don’t think I have learned too much to be honest because I had trust and confidence making the seven changes before the game.

"The players have got to go out and prove me right by those decisions but this is the best I have felt in terms of our squad strength and I do have confidence in the 24, 25 players that we have got.

"If you take into consideration that we left Roofe and Davis at home and Jermain Defoe has got a different play, we are about to welcome Jones and Edmundson back in a couple of weeks.

"I am super confident in the squad to make that amount of changes and I wouldn’t do it if I didn’t have trust and belief that we could go and keep the level that we have been showing in the previous 24, 25 games."

One of the switches Gerrard made was to given Nathan Patterson his first full start at European level.

And the 19-year-old can be proud of his efforts after he replaced captain James Tavernier and performed admirably in Poznan.

Gerrard said: "I think that works both ways. He's lucky to have Tav here because he's got no-one better to learn off and be a sponge around.

“When you're at Nathan's age, it's about the daily routine of training. He's up against the likes of Ryan Kent, Brandon Barker and Jordan Jones on a daily basis, who have got speed and quality.

“He's up against the Aribos and Hagis, so his development is really important. He's got a bright future.

“Tav is at an age where at some point, Nathan will take over that position but it's great to have two really good right-backs to pick from.

“I thought his performance was strong considering it was his full debut at this level."