Andy Halliday says Rangers can repay boss Steven Gerrard for giving up their grip on the Ladbrokes Premiership top spot by firing the club into the Europa League knock-out stage.

The Ibrox side climbed to the league summit with their win at Hearts but five dropped points against Aberdeen and Dundee have seen them slip back behind bitter rivals Celtic.

Frustrated Gerrard admitted his side’s loss to Derek McInnes’ Dons before Sunday’s drab draw at Dundee had confirmed just which members of his squad he could trust.

But Halliday reckons the Light Blues can regain some of their manager’s faith by beating Rapid Vienna at the Allianz Stadion to secure their place in the knock-out stages.

He said: “We owe the manager a performance after the last two, 100 per cent.

“To put ourselves in the position we did after the Hearts game – to now be in the position we’re in now – it shows how quickly football can change.

“But as quickly as it can change for the worse, it can just as quickly change again for the better.

“We know we’re 90 minutes away from achieving something very special.

“We owe the manager that because the last two performances haven’t been good enough.

“We’re frustrated that the standards have dropped in the last two games. Because we’ve shown how good we can be.

“But we’ve also shown an ugly side in terms of how poor we can be too.

“That’s disappointing because chances don’t come along too often when you’re going for titles.

“So we’ve got to realise that it’ll take even more hard work to put ourselves back in the position we were in. If we get that chance again, we have to try and stay there.”

Gers have an official ticket allocation of 2,500 for the clash in the Austrian capital but thousands more have travelled without briefs.

And Halliday can understand the fans excitement, saying: “There are 10,000 Rangers coming over and I think I’ve had 10,000 requests for tickets.

“I was still getting texts on Wednesday morning but I had to turn my phone off last night. I’ve told them they’ll need to try and get them on the streets like everyone else.

“But it’s a special occasion, it’s what you expect.

“After the support we took to Leipzig for a friendly, I thought there are simply no boundaries in terms of what Rangers fans will do to see their team.

“I’m surprised but I’m not surprised. The hunger to be at these games has built up over a few years now.

“But it’s all over Scotland. Scottish clubs want to follow their clubs, wherever they go, we’re so passionate about our football. It’s probably one of the only things we’re good at.

“It’s a massive game, the type we’ve not had for a number of years. So it’s understandable that the fans are looking forward to it.”