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Photo courtesy Archibald99 (via Wikimedia Commons)

The phrase ‘however temporary’ can be used to describe a lot of clubs in the UEFA Champions League at the moment, but the term may fit none of those sides better than it currently does for Rangers.

The blue half of the Old Firm finds itself back atop the Clydesdale Bank Premier League after a hard-fought 2-1 win away to St. Johnstone over the weekend, but even though manager Walter Smith’s Rangers leap-frogged intra-city rival Celtic last weekend to go top in Scotland’s domestic top flight, Rangers has struggled so far in its ninth UEFA Champions League campaign.

Worse yet, the Scottish champion’s struggles in Europe may continue over the next few weeks if the club fails to take points from Romanian side Unirea Urziceni, starting with Tuesday night’s meeting between the two sides at Ibrox in Glasgow.

The Teddy Bears sit at the bottom of Group G ahead of Tuesday’s European equivalent of a six-pointer, and even though Unirea only stands above Rangers in their four-team pod on goal difference, the first-time Romanian champion will be keen to make it known to its Scottish foe that Unirea intends on sticking around in this competition for as long as possible.

The Chelsea de Ialomiţa – if you believe Wikipedia, anyway – was pegged by most pundits to finish at the bottom of their group in the club’s first-ever appearance in the Champions League group stage, but even though the Romanians haven’t managed more than a single point so far, it hasn’t been for want of trying.  Unirea faced a tough welcome to the group stage in the form of a visit to group favorite Sevilla – a team that would later smoke Rangers 4-1 at Ibrox on Sept. 29 – but the Spanish giant only managed a 2-0 win, and Unirea then earned a famous 1-1 draw at home two weeks later against VfB Stuttgart.

The form charts ahead of Tuesday’s Matchday Three lean in Unirea’s favor, then, with Rangers getting a well-earned draw at Stuttgart on Matchday One before being pounded at home by the aforementioned Andalusians in the most recent group fixture for both of those clubs.  Smith’s Rangers side needs to take advantage of being at home on Tuesday and away to Unirea on Nov. 4, then, if the SPL leader doesn’t want to fall further behind in its current European campaign.

“I think, at this stage of the Champions League section, the back-to-back games, once they are over with, give you an indication of what the opportunities are for success or otherwise, so these two games will be vitally important for both clubs,” Smith told reporters at a press conference this week.

The Rangers boss has reportedly taken advice on the fixtures from Davie Irons, the recently sacked Greenock Morton manager who led the Scottish lower-league side in a home preseason friendly against Unirea at Cappielow Park on July 20.  Unirea won that game by a score of 3-1.

Smith and his backroom staff at Ibrox will be much more concerned about what Rangers does to help itself now, though, with Tuesday’s meeting against a dangerous Unirea side looming. Things may not get easier for the Teddy Bears before the two clubs’ second meeting in Romania on Nov. 7, however, as the Scottish champion faces tough upcoming SPL fixtures at home to Hibernian and away to Dundee United, with those two matches sandwiching a Co-operative Insurance Cup quarterfinal match away to Dundee on Oct. 27.

Matthew Semisch