As Rangers prepare to face Paris St Germain and Arsenal over the weekend at the Emirates Cup in London, there can be little doubt that the management team of Walter Smith, Ally McCoist and Kenny McDowall must be casting their minds back to a year ago.
Having lost the Scottish Premier League to old rivals Celtic on the final day of season 2007/08, Rangers were thrown into a Champions League qualifier with FBK Kaunas.
For the Old Firm, increasingly squeezed in the transfer market by clubs of lesser stature but larger bank balances in England (Marc-Antoine Fortune a notable exception), such is the craving for the cash generated by participation in the group stage that no qualifying tie can be approached without trepidation.
And with good cause. Rangers, caught cold and still hurting from their Uefa Cup final defeat by Zenit St Petersburg ten weeks previously, were held to a goalless draw by Kaunas at Ibrox on 30 July.
They then lost 2-1 to the Lithuanians the following week and faced a season without further European action.
If the Ibrox club's pride had been dented by this blow, its senses were scrambled a few days later by the sale of prize asset Carlos Cuellar to Aston Villa.
Followers of Rangers were now in no doubt that theirs was a selling club.
Things appear better this time round. It was the Light Blues who won the SPL title on the final day of the most recent campaign and so it was Celtic's turn to endure the torment of playing a Champions League qualifier before the resumption of domestic football.
Dinamo Moscow's 1-0 win at Celtic Park on Wednesday throws into relief the importance of that last-day win at Tannadice, which clinched the league title and automatic Champions League qualification.
Rangers' summer has been less pressurised than their old foes' or indeed their own last year.
Smith has seen Kevin Thomson, Allan McGregor and Steven Naismith impress on tour in Germany.
And after the glamour of the Emirates Tournament come friendlies against Manchester City and Portsmouth.
The return of the aforementioned trio has been described in some quarters as being like "three new signings" but, however welcome they may be, they do not disguise the complete lack of arrivals at the club.
The summer departures of Christian Dailly, Barry Ferguson and Brahim Hemdani have helped to reduce the wage bill but further trimming is required before Smith can enter the transfer market in a buying capacity.
Smith is in the enviable position of having Neil Alexander and McGregor vying for the keeper's jersey. Neither is likely to gift the opposition too many goals across the season.
Thomson was in excellent form for the team before his cruciate ligament injury last November; his return will help restore balance to the midfield.
Ibrox regulars will feel they have yet to see the best of Naismith, who has struggled to have the same impact at Rangers as at former club Kilmarnock.
Now 22, and having recovered from a serious knee injury, Naismith hopes to feature against Arsene Wenger's Arsenal on Sunday.
The Frenchman invited the young Scot for a trial with the Gunners in 2006 and, although this did not result in a move to London, it made a great impression on him.
"Walking into their dressing room and seeing the array of stars they had was something else," Naismith told the official Rangers website.
"The likes of Ashley Cole, Emmanuel Adebayor and Gilberto Silva were all there and the great thing was everyone was really good to me.
"I was delighted to have been given the chance to work there for a spell."
Rangers are in a curious position regarding Celtic's plight in the Champions League qualifier.
Should the Parkhead men fail to reach the group stage, the Ibrox club will enjoy the benefit of Scotland's full allocation of TV money.
Yet with Falkirk already out of Europe, and almost certainly soon to be joined by Aberdeen and Motherwell following heavy defeats by Sigma Olomouc and Steaua Bucharest respectively, Scottish football's co-efficient is dwindling further.
Celtic's elimination would exacerbate the situation that faces the SPL champions next season, when they will no longer enter the group stage automatically.
Such is the difficulty of qualifying for the Champions League proper, unless Rangers are certain they can avoid another Kaunas, their financial prospects in the short-to-medium term may be brighter with a Celtic victory.
On trial at Murray Park is 19-year-old Israeli midfielder Gil Blumstein, who scored a hat-trick for the reserves against Portadown on Thursday night.
It is to young players like him and young Scots like McGregor, Thomson and Naismith that Rangers must look to deliver success in the coming challenging season.
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