Twenty four hours on from a spirited address to the club's supporters after he was voted on to the board at Ibrox, the stark truth of the scale of Dave King's task was left in no doubt from his modest vantage point in Central Park.

It was in these rustic surroundings that a Cowdenbeath team just hammered 10-0 by Hearts managed to hold managerless Rangers, a team already out of the Scottish Championship running. That word broken was used more than once by King the day before, but the side's fragility was now laid bare in front of his own eyes.

The quantum leap from that day to the aftermath of King's latest announcement this week is almost beyond comprehension. Two days after King revealed that he will step down as chairman, Steven Gerrard will stand in the De Kuip away dugout, knowing his players are just one win over Feyenoord from the knockout stage of the Europa League.

"He's given five years of his life to us and dedicated it to Rangers to put it in a better position than when he took over," Gerrard said.

"I've got massive respect for Dave and the job he's done chairing the board. The positive thing is that he is not going anywhere. He'll still be a shareholder, still be about. I think it's important that I've got that relationship.

"Dave is somebody that I trust very much. He's given me fantastic support."

With a wild torrent thundering down outside as darkness fell on a dank Rotterdam, Gerrard was quick to deflect the attention of the match away from himself during his media conference at De Kuip while pouring praise on Feyenoord counterpart Dick Advocaat.

However, history again validates the work he has done to turn around a dumbfounded Rangers team that was beaten by Luxembourg's Progres Niederkorn a year prior to his arrival.

The former Liverpool captain's European record at the Ibrox helm offers great encouragement, even without the firepower of the injured Jermain Defoe, or possibly the defensive rigidity of the doubtful Borna Barisic. Twenty six matches have been played, 13 wins garnered. Just three defeats - none of which were at home - with notable scalps including Legia Warsaw, Rapid Vienna, Porto and Thursday night's hosts already.

"I certainly enjoy it or I wouldn't be doing it," the 39-year-old said on the eve of his 89th match in charge of the club.

"I am obviously starting out on my own personal journey, which I am trying to improve on and grow all the time. But it is not about me - this press conference is about the game tomorrow and the challenge that we face and my personal stuff can stay to one side."

Dave King (right) knew he had work to do after that result at Central Park

While Gerrard proclaims to be on a personal journey, the distance that this Rangers team has traversed goes way beyond the literal 570 miles separating Glasgow and Rotterdam.

On that day in Fife in March 2015, around 3,000 fans of the Ibrox club clambered under corrugated roofs and across brittle terracing to watch that 0-0 draw. On Thursday, the same amount - with around 7,000 strewn across Rotterdam and nearby Amsterdam - will be housed in one of European football's iconic cauldrons, willing their team to take another great stride in continental competition under Gerrard.

To put it into context, victory on the banks of the Nieuwe Mass would signal Rangers' first foray into Europe beyond Christmas in eight years, a fact not lost on their manager.

"This is about the team, about the club," he said. "It would be a big, big achievement for the club, if you can compare to where we started 18 months ago.

"From a personal point of view, it's not important. But, for the club, the fans, it would put us on a different level.

"I need big players with character and bravery. They need to stand up and be counted. We've certainly rehearsed this type of challenge.

Four years on from Central Park, Steven Gerrard is preparing his side to face Feyenoord

"We took on Legia in front of an incredible atmosphere and stood up and were brave in front of a hostile atmosphere. But I'm still going to need players to perform."

Rangers opened their Europa League Group G campaign with a buoyant 1-0 win over Feyenoord in October but had to do so with a section of Ibrox closed after being found guilty of sectarian chanting.

On the eve of their next meeting, Gerrard quite rightly praised the ample backing his team will receive in the Netherlands but urged supporters to not open the club up to any other potential Uefa sanctions.

"That is Rangers - a magnificent support who want to follow the team anywhere in the world," he added. "I am not surprised by it.

"It is important the fans behave as we have two games left and the last thing we need is any punishment moving forward.

"Whatever happens tomorrow and in the next game, we need our supporters right behind us and they have been fantastic so far."