Sky Sports Robin Propper makes Rangers transition admission as Scottish Premiership contrast with Europe laid bare.

The Dutchman has been indifferent domestically but is rising to the continental occasion.

Robin Propper confesses he underestimated the challenge posed by domestic opponents in Scotland. The Dutch defender believes his new team has the potential to get to the final 16 of the Europa League.

Propper, 31, has struggled to adjust to the physicality of the Premiership after joining from FC Twente in the summer. In European action, he appeared more at ease and maintained a calm demeanour as Rangers wreaked havoc on the Riviera. The 4-1 victory moves Gers to 10 points, which should secure a spot in the February play-offs.

If they finish in the top eight in the new UEFA competition’s league phase, they may be able to skip the first round and go to the last 16 in March. And Propper believes his team must strive high as they prepare for their three final fixtures, which include matches against English heavyweights Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United before their last showdown at home against Belgians Union Saint Gilloise.

He stated, “We already have 10 points, which I believe is a great start. However, finishing in the top eight is tough because each game in the Europa League is extremely challenging.

“We have a lot of tough opponents ahead of us, three in particular. But we want it, of course. You want to be in the top eight, and we want to qualify, so we’ll attempt it.”

Propper is attempting to improve his domestic performance after a poor start. However, he is convinced that with time and the patience of the Light Blues troops, he will succeed.

When asked if playing in Scotland had been more difficult than he thought, he said candidly: “Yeah, maybe. Perhaps I underestimated it a little. Of course, you know about Rangers and how large the club is, but you know nothing about the competition.

“So, yes, it takes some time. I played both excellent and bad games. So I need to get back on track and maintain my maximum level.

“I believe you see it in European games. I’m more like me, and I’m probably more interested in European games than the Scottish Premiership. But I think I can adjust, and I’ll need some time to do so. I gave myself that time, and I want to acclimatise to it.

“It’s quite different [playing in the Premier League]. Of course, I need time, but I also need to adjust quickly because we play a game every three to four days. But we can do it; we have a good squad to do it, communicate to each other about it, and assist each other in games. We need to swap, and we can do so.”

To be fair, Propper is not the only player at Ibrox who has found Euro action simpler than the competition back in Scotland. When asked to explain the strange paradox of a team struggling in the league but flourishing on the continent, he replied: “Yeah, it’s a different type of game, of course. We play a little differently in the Premiership, of course.

“You want to have the ball as much as possible, you want to press as much as possible to show what we can do with the ball. And here, you may occasionally drop a little, leave the ball at the opponent, and then play with counterattack, counter-attacks.

“We can do both very well, only we need in the Premiership that bit of, I don’t know how you say that, a bit of aggression more to score the goals, to keep a clean sheet. We struggle a little bit, but you see in Europe, we can do that maybe much more. We are quite excellent at it.

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