And yet, this season it has been different. The noise has been a little louder. There has been a swagger to this Rangers team. Its spirit has felt more unrelenting than perhaps ever before.
Two comebacks in a row from 1-0 down have taken the Light Blues to the final of the Europa League and left Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s players on the brink of history.
To make it, they must produce one more positive result against Eintracht Frankfurt this midweek – and Kevin Thomson believes the key to that is making Seville feel like home.
The former midfielder, a stalwart of the last Rangers team to reach a European final in 2008, has been blown away by the pulsating, thronging atmosphere on his old stomping ground.
And with thousands of Gers followers descending on southern Spain, he feels replicating that in Andalucia could tip the balance in their favour.
“Ibrox is unique, it’s a special place,” Thomson said. “It’s second to none, really, and I would say the Rangers fans are as well. They’re befitting of one of the biggest clubs in the world.
“Of course, they’re difficult to please at times. That’s a given and rightly so because of the demands they put on their team and their players.
“But when they get behind you – as we have seen throughout this European campaign – by God, they’ve got some power.
“I’m pretty sure, from speaking to everyone leading up to this game and hearing how over the moon people are with what the team has achieved, they’ll back Rangers to the hilt again.
“I would expect the noise of 20,000 fans or however many get into the stadium, with the excitement they have at getting tickets and all the rest, will feel like 50,000 back home.
“As much as that applies to the players, it’s the same for everyone in the stands too. They need to be behind the team all the way and I have no doubt they will be.
“Their energy and noise, especially with how hot it will be, can genuinely make a difference. The boys will need every ounce they can get and the fans can give them that bit extra.”
It was 14 years ago that Rangers were last in this position as they chased a UEFA Cup win against Zenit St Petersburg in Manchester as part of a possible quadruple.
In the end, they fell short as burnout set in and both European and league success eluded Walter Smith’s shattered squad, with just a domestic cup double claimed instead.
This time, there has been more opportunity to rest key players and ensure added freshness ahead of the final at the Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan Stadium.
“The key thing for the players at this stage is being able to switch off to an extent,” Thomson added. “They need to try to relax their minds and their bodies.
“Training will be very light. They’ll obviously be at the stadium the night before the game and they will walk through certain aspects of what they want to do.
“There will be some camaraderie-type training, I would imagine, to keep spirits up. They’ll get a feel for the pitch and the surroundings then but preparations are done otherwise.
“It’s a long wait for the game from now but they are top, top players who will have their own ways of preparing and getting into the right mindset.
“The biggest piece of advice I can give them, as someone who was there myself in 2008, is don’t let it pass you by. Give it your all and leave everything out there.
“If they do that, they will give themselves the best opportunity of winning and I’m sure this Rangers team has every chance of being successful if they do that.
“I’d love to see them go one step further than we did. It’s not about personal disappointments or being jealous, I want to see every Rangers team being as successful as it can be.
In Steven Davis and Allan McGregor, van Bronckhorst has at his disposal two former team-mates of Thomson’s whose experience will be so important.
Davis started against Zenit and will become the fifth Ranger to appear in two different European finals after John Greig, Sandy Jardine, Dave Smith and Willie Johnston if he plays.
McGregor, meanwhile, finally has the chance to play on this stage for the first time after an ankle injury deprived him of an appearance against the Russians.
Thomson said: “It was such a whirlwind back then and the group was so relentless that, looking back, I never gave much thought to who missed out.
“He’s a great lad and even though he’s a bit of a closed book who doesn’t let many people in, we’ve all seen how good a goalkeeper he is for so very many years.
“For the club to have Davo and Greegs there, even if Steven ends up not playing in the game itself, will be a great asset to take into the fixture.
“Davo is a similar age to myself and Allan is 40. To still be playing at the level they’re at is testament to the sort of lads they are and the professionalism they have.
“Everyone needs a bit of luck along the way to achieve good things and they have been no different but they have worked so hard for their success and for this chance too.”
While the team Thomson was in relied most on its defensive qualities and scored just five goals on their run, the current crop have 16 to their credit in the knockout rounds so far.
In captain James Tavernier, the competition’s leading scorer typifies a swashbuckling approach from the whole group which fans will hope they can produce once again.
Thomson added: “I wouldn’t want to put any extra pressure on the lads but speaking as honestly as I can, I think they’ve got an unbelievable chance.
“They have got a lot of goals against big European sides and beaten them too so they’ve got to be confident and have belief they can beat Frankfurt.
“I don’t think people should get carried away with the fact Frankfurt finished in the bottom half of the Bundesliga. Remember, it’s not long ago they beat Barcelona over two legs.
“They have proved they can punch above their weight and it’s a difficult game but it’s a European final and the fact Rangers can score goals gives them a lot of hope.”
ASK RANGERS: All of the latest supporter news and help in one place HERE
MATCH HUB: Follow all the pre-match build up in one handy place with our Match Hub HERE
RANGERSTV LIVE: Find out more about our TWO RangersTV shows on Tuesday and Wednesday HERE
SUPPORTER INFO: All supporter information for attending the match HERE
A subscription to RangersTV starts from just £6 per month, and provides not only exclusive access to the club’s teams, but also original feature videos and documentaries, our incredibly popular Inside Ibrox and Away Days shows and our extensive archive of match action from through the years.