Steven Whittaker insists Rangers can resurrect their ailing Champions League campaign by causing an upset against Manchester United at Ibrox later this month.
The Scottish champions were on course to progress to the last 16 along with the Barclays Premier League giants before Valencia put a massive dent in their hopes. The Spaniards headed into Tuesday's crunch tie trailing Rangers by a point but a 3-0 win at the Mestalla allowed them to overtake Walter Smith's men into that coveted second spot behind United.
Whittaker said: "The Valencia game was a setback and we are now sitting third at the moment but there are still two games to go and there are still six points available."
Rangers claimed a point in their Group C opener at Old Trafford, after their ultra-defensive display saw the match end in a goalless stalemate, and Whittaker insists they should not be written off in front of their own fans when the two clubs meet again.
He continued: "We will see where those games take us. We will try to take something from Manchester United and then Bursaspor in the last game.
"We managed to go to Old Trafford and get a point so we will try to frustrate them again at Ibrox.
"We know it will be a great atmosphere and a great game to play in and hopefully we can take something from it."
Despite the defeat in Spain, Whittaker is not yet willing to contemplate the consolation prize of parachuting into the Europa League after United's win over Bursaspor left the Turks without a single point after four games and with little hope of catching Rangers for third place.
He said: "That result helps us to hang onto third at least but there are two games to go so we will wait and see what happens first.
"Third is a great possibility for us but we are still looking to finish second in the group."
Source: PA
