Russell Martin, the new manager of Rangers, wants his side to be aggressive as they face Panathinaikos in the first leg of their second-round qualifying tie. The second leg of the Europa League quarterfinal tie promises to be a raucous affair at Ibrox on Tuesday night. Perhaps more than ever, this game is a make-or-break moment for their respective squads. A victory would send them through to the third qualifying round, where they will meet either Viktoria Plzen or Servette. A defeat will see them sink down to Europa League qualification place.
Rangers have bolstered their squad with several new signings, including Nasser Djiga, Max Aarons, Djeidi Gassama, Emmanuel Fernandez, Joe Rothwell, Thelo Aasgaard, and Lyall Cameron. Especially significant, Max Aarons is set to make his competitive debut for the club. On the flip side, Thelo Aasgaard is a major doubt for the match after he suffered an injury in pre-season training.
Martin is pleased with the work the team has put in during pre-season, which has been about focusing on physical conditioning and tactical strategy. He thinks back fondly on all of the connections made and the friendships that were built among players during this weird time.
We’ve worked hard over the last four weeks, and it’s exciting to see how the players are coming together, Martin stated.
With one eye on the opening match against Panathinaikos, Martin is very aware of just how important this opener is.
Tomorrow will be the most important test we’ve ever faced. It will be a reflection of how far we’ve come, and a reminder of how much work still remains. he remarked.
This fixture will be a key litmus test of just how far this team has come. Most importantly, Martin stresses that the coaching staff will find out a ton about the players and determine where to go from here.
“That’s the most interesting and exciting bit for us as a coaching staff, is that tomorrow we will learn a lot about the group, and learn a lot about what we need to prioritise moving forward over the next few weeks,” he noted.
Rangers will be coming into this important matchup feeling positive. Martin expects the squad to change a lot over the next few weeks. It’s important for them to give a performance that showcases who they are.
“The team we have now, the squad we have now, we have to put a performance that looks like us, feels like us, and one that we can build up and ultimately win the game,” Martin explained.
I’m very much looking forward to it, I await that game with great excitement. To make that happen, the players have worked their tails off over the past four weeks. Their fans oughta be really pumped for this matchup! Martin concluded.
“I’m excited about it, I’m looking forward to the game. The players should, with the work they’ve put in for the last four weeks, be really excited about this game now,” Martin concluded.
Leave a Reply