In more ways than one, this felt symbolic - Rangers’ Champions League campaign crashing down in a stadium not their own before a ball had even been kicked in the play-offs.

Philippe Clement branded Jefte’s red card soon after half-time during last night’s 2-0 defeat against Dynamo Kyiv as the worst he’d seen in 30 years of football. The Belgian was not being dramatic in critiquing a refereeing decision that potentially cost Rangers millions of pounds when the tie was level. Marco Guida left Mount Florida more stunned than angry after rushing over to show the 20-year-old Brazilian a second yellow card for jumping higher than his direct opponent. You can only imagine the scene in the VAR room, unable to intervene and reverse such a costly decision because of the colour of the card.

While anger was directed towards the official as he traipsed off the park it was not exclusive in his direction. A red card may well have spun the tie against Rangers, but it doesn’t begin to tell the overall story of an unprepared squad approaching a very winnable fixture. One referee call was far from the only mitigating factor working against Clement’s odds. Are Dynamo Kyiv a stronger team than any of those faced at this stage of qualification since 2020 - Galatasaray, Malmo, USG and Servette? More importantly, Rangers’ current squad is weaker than any of his recent predecessor's options at the same stage.

Read more: Check all the Rangers transfer news & rumours throughout the transfer window

Rangers are here, in the midst of another rebuild while competitive football rolls on, because contrasting plans have constrained their efforts since the summer of 2021. Although stating that is nothing new, the consequences don’t disappear over one summer. They’ve spent but spent poorly, sold but not nearly enough. A current longer-term focus on recruitment and commitment to one vision should be noted as they try to exit a circular, annual event of sacking managers. And yet, the fruits of that plan are not yet visible.

Football clubs are the sum of a million parts and marginal gains. Last night Vaclac Cerny, man of the match on his full debut against Motherwell and a clear upgrade in attack, was not deemed fit to start having arrived at the club after pre-season and an extended break following Euro 2024. Rangers could not acquire ‘experience’ early in the window until comparable figures left the building, but their only addition to the striking position which lacked a challenger to Cyriel Dessers last season, Hamza Igamane, is not even in full training. Given Danilo has not been deemed ready to feature on return from a season blighted by impact injuries, should such a lack of depth not have been foreseen? Dessers’ hold-up play can be an issue with 11 men, let alone 10.

Similarly, Tom Lawrence who has only started four games in a row for Rangers twice since joining the club in 2022, sees himself the sole occupant of a No.10 position, so bloated this time last year. Alex Lowry hasn’t featured since pre-season, Todd Cantwell continues to train individually and Ianis Hagi does not figure in Clement’s plans with wages a primary concern. As half-chances emerged before the break last night there was nobody in that front four capable of turning the screw as Cerny had a few days prior.

In the Scottish Cup Final at this ground a few months ago it was small decisions, this lack of joined-up season-to-season thinking, that decided an Old Firm final. When Brendan Rodgers turned to replace Reo Hatate and Kyogo with the like-for-like Paulo Bernardo and Adam Idah it was that duo who won the game. Instead, Rangers brought on Abdallah Sima as their striking option who’d hardly featured since January and Scott Wright at No.10, in an unfamiliar role where he’d lose the ball in the build-up.

Jefte (left) saw red as Danilo remained on the bench again (right) (Image: Alan Harvey - SNS Group)

Yesterday it was quietly confirmed that Jose Cifuentes has joined Aris Thessaloniki on loan, his second such move of the year after a 12-month loan at Brazilian side Cruzeiro was terminated. It was on August 4th last year that the Ecuadorian joined Rangers following a summer-long pursuit. He was a player Michael Beale believed “would take us to another level”. Yet the system he was signed for left with Beale a couple of months later.

A red card does not explain transfer decisions like this one and constantly changing playing style and recruitment policy, or the 10-plus players who’ve walked out the door free of charge since the summer of 2023. All of which provide the scene of this summer - an uphill battle to solve the present and the future.

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While a home European atmosphere can hold mythical connotations, Ibrox has played its part in too many European nights to not be a factor that was missed against Kyiv. It was two seasons ago after being defeated by a stronger Union Saint-Gilloise side in Belgium, that Giovanni van Bronckhorst's team used their home ground to power a 3-0 win and reach the play-off against PSV.

This time last year, Beale’s Rangers were impressive at home to earn a 2-2 draw against a better version of the to-be Dutch champions. While Clement did his best to gee up the support in the build-up to this game the apathy of travelling to Hampden for many is clear. How do you create a siege mentality in unfamiliar surroundings?

There was a period last night when the crowd saw enough on the pitch to generate that style of atmosphere. Rangers rallied better than Kyiv immediately after the dismissal and had the better of the play. From there, Clement got his substitutions wrong. The middle of the park needed Dujon Sterling as the weak core leading up to Kyiv’s first goal showed. Then, Propper was up top as a defacto forward while Danilo remained on the bench and it was 2-0 before Rabbi Matondo was introduced. Although hindsight is hindsight, what if Cerny was presented with one of the chances that had fallen to Ross McCausland in the first-half?

The remainder of this summer’s rebuild must now ensue without the financial rewards of a Champions League play-off place. And it takes more than a red card to understand why that is the case.