Why Rangers winning UEL would be 'one of greatest achievements in British football'

A day like that would have seemed a million miles away when in July 2012 the club went into liquidation and subsequently found themselves in the Scottish Third Division.

Rather than blockbuster fixtures with Celtic and European heavyweights, they had to get used to the likes of Brechin, Annan and Falkirk.

Their first home match in the fourth tier was played in front of nearly 50,000 fans at Ibrox, a division record, as they beat East Stirlingshire 5-1.

Rangers legend Ally McCoist led them to back-to-back promotions as they climbed into the Scottish Championship by 2014.

Their ascendancy kept going as Mark Warburton then led them back to the top flight two seasons later, four after they hit the depths of the league.

All the while arch-rivals Celtic were setting numerous records, winning the treble treble and going for ten league titles in a row.

It took them a few seasons to get competitive in the Scottish Premiership before Steven Gerrard led them to their first league title in a decade last season to complete the comeback, but now their redemption has reached even greater heights.

An incredible Europa League run has seen them knock out powerhouses like Borussia Dortmund and RB Leipzig, with another German team standing in their way for the final.

There are 100,000 Rangers fans expected to make the trip to Seville - some even travelling from Tangier in Morocco, says talkSPORT's Alex Crook. And McCoist is still in disbelief that this is really happening.

"I can't tell you how excited I am. It's remarkable," McCoist told talkSPORT Breakfast.

"I didn't think I'd see it again in my lifetime. Particularly in this tournament with the top clubs from the Champions League coming down.

"Rangers and clubs like that have no right to make the final. They need to play well and have a bit of luck and show an enormous amount of spirit, and that's exactly what they've done.

"When you think about it, to batter Dortmund over two legs, home and away, beat Leipzig in an unbelievable game at home.

"It really is amazing.

"They will be immortal these boys if they can pull it off. I genuinely mean it, I think it will be one of the greatest achievements in British football. I really do.

"Just the way the odds are stacked against teams.

"We knocked out a Leipzig side that was worth £250million and ours was worth £13million. That shouldn't happen.

"I'm clearly full of hope and a great level optimism as well. I hope everyone enjoys it and makes it a wonderful occasion."

Graeme Souness was player-manager of Rangers between 1986 and 1991 and he believes their journey back to the top is a mark of how incredible the club is.

He told Sky Sports: "It's truly enormous and this is a unique story as well. If you go back to ten years ago, when they were thrown out of the big league and nearly went out of business completely, people took great joy in that.

"Their way up has been a long, slow journey. Then within ten years they're in the final of a European competition. That tells you everything you need to know about that football club. Everyone who is connected to the club deserves great credit for where Rangers find themselves on May 18."

It has been a remarkable story for Rangers to reach these heights just ten years after they nearly vanished from existence.

Just one more hurdle to beat before they achieve greatness.