When the ultimate whistle blew on a blisteringly scorching Athens evening the place Rangers had at factors been each tremendously valiant and desperately susceptible, Russell Martin’s facet had finally obtained what they got here for.
When the draw for the Champions League second spherical qualifier threw up Panathinaikos, it appeared probably the most hazardous of first steps to the league part, and Rangers rode their luck from all the way in which from Glasgow to Greece.
And but whereas they’ve some Greek wastefulness and Jack Butland heroics to thank for his or her passage into the following spherical, the character demonstrated by a workforce within the early days of an overhaul by the brand new head coach was to be admired as they drew 1-1 on the evening to progress 3-1 on combination.
Martin had requested his gamers to be resilient within the face of the Panathinaikos onslaught, and whereas different areas of their recreation would have been regarding, they delivered that in spades.
“We’ll get higher. The group will develop a lot from this,” Martin stated after the sport. That is his problem now, so as to add the standard to the foundations of the character his workforce has proven over these two testing encounters.
“That is the large factor for me with Russell Martin, is that he thrives on the coaching floor,” former Rangers goalkeeper Cammy Bell stated on BBC Sportsound.
“The longer he has along with his gamers, the higher they’ll get.
“This Rangers workforce confirmed a little bit of character. It is all optimistic for the time being, they only have to maintain this momentum going.”
