The 2005–06 season got off to a bad start, with Rangers only winning six league games out of the first 17, being knocked out of the League Cup by Celtic in the process. The period from October through to early December saw the team embark on, statistically, the worst run in their history, going ten games without a win. During this time, however, the club became the first Scottish side to qualify for the knockout stages of the Champions League, yet there was still significant pressure on McLeish from fans due to the club's poor position in the domestic league table. It was widely felt that chairman David Murray would let McLeish go after the European campaign had finished, and a press conference arranged two days after the final group match seemed to confirm this.