RANGERS defender Sasa Papac found himself caught in the unfamiliar glare of the limelight at Ibrox last night after his goal levelled the scores against AC Milan.

The glamour friendly, which attracted a crowd in excess of 45,000 despite the wintry weather, was played out at pedestrian pace but nevertheless served as a reminder to Rangers of just what they have been missing this season.

The Ibrox side have been starved of European action, a side dish they feasted themselves on last season when they enjoyed a thrilling run that led all the way to Uefa Cup Final.

This campaign has been in stark contrast following the woeful exit to Kaunus before the Champions League had begun in earnest and the excitement among the Rangers support last night at the sight of the Italian giants was obvious.

Papac's late goal was cheered with plenty of gusto by the home support and the Bosnian defender knows that doing it in a competitive game is the real aim.

"It has been a while since we played a European team and I think that it is very different to playing a Scottish side," he said.

"It can only help us as a team and as players. If you come up against a player like Kaka or David Beckham then you can learn.

"Beckham is a great player. They have so many good players and it was a good experience to come up against them. It can only be better for you as a player to come up against the best.

"The football was very different to the football we play in Scotland because it was a lot more technical.

"This season there has been no European football for us and it was good to play against the team who have the kind of quality AC Milan have.

"We have missed that. Hopefully next season there will be more nights against teams like AC Milan because you can see how much it meant to everyone."

Getting into the Champions League will be a whole lot easier if Rangers win the SPL title this season.

This is the final year that the winners of the Championship will go directly into the group stages of the competition, a ticket that is worthy upwards of £10m.

Qualification for the group stages is notoriously tricky, as both halves of the Old Firm can testify.

And, having slashed what was a seven-point gap to two points, Rangers will feel they have the momentum now as they enter the latter months of what has been an uneasy campaign for Celtic and Rangers in terms of points wasted.

The Ibrox side are also now able to rest easy knowing that the transfer window has closed and with it any chance of them having to part with a significant asset.

Kris Boyd received a hero's welcome when he came on for the final few minutes of last night's game and Papac was as delighted as any of the punters in the stand to see the club's top scorer still at Rangers.

The Ibrox support had made their feelings clear on the matter and there is no doubt that the striker's goals will be of huge significance between now and May.

"Everybody is still here which is good news," said Papac. "I think we have a strong team and we believe we are good enough to go on and win the title now.

"We have managed to cut the gap and I don't think too many people expected that we would.

"We have believed in ourselves and now there is not a lot between us and Celtic so it should be exciting between now and the end of the season."