ALEX McLEISH believes Rangers disastrous Champions League KO at the hands of Kaunas can be a blessing in disguise for the Ibrox outfit.

Eck was at the helm when Gers suffered a similar calamitous exit, this time in the Uefa Cup at the hands of Viktoria Zikov back in season 2002/2003 that was followed by Rangers last domestic treble.

McLeish said: "We suffered a painful exit at the hands of Viktoria Zizkov and it turned out to be to our benefit in domestic terms.

"What it meant for us was that key players like Ronald de Boer, who was approaching the end of his career, remained fresh for the big domestic games which was crucial.

"We threw Ronald up front and he obliged with 20 goals and he was a star for us and that maybe would not have been the case if he'd had to play European games.

"So I think Rangers early exit from Europe may well prove to be similarly helpful this time around in domestic terms as it will keep their key players fresh."

McLeish believes Sir David Murray's appointment of Walter Smith was the only sensible choice when the Paul Le Guen reign started to fall apart.

"Maybe people didn't see it at the time, but the appointment of Walter for a second spell was the only really sensible one," he told Rangers TV.

"Walter brought stability to Rangers. He has maybe done things differently second time around, but I'm sure he will get success." Stories in today's English papers... Arsenal's William Gallas will stay captain despite outburst over team-mates' lack of courage. Alan Shearer has already selected his backroom staff should he be offered the Newcastle job. Rob Lee would become his assistant. England boss Fabio Capello - on £5.4m a year - has "lost" £1m by converting it into Euros.