
Martin casts verdict on Rangers' performance vs Alloa
"I saw lots of really good stuff," Martin said of Rangers' victory this evening when speaking to Premier Sports post-match.
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"We started the game with real intent and then scored. We can't then sustain the intensity all the time.
"I saw a few too many moments in the first half that they shouldn't get.
"But there was lots of good stuff.
"There will be a lot of players that will be better for this. It's Manny's [Emmanuel Fernandez] first game, Mikey's [Moore] first game, and the guys around haven't played pretty much.
"There's a lot to be really excited about. And it's my job to always want more from the players and us as a group. So we'll look at it, and we'll learn from it.
"I'm pleased with where we're going, but we have to keep working always."
Rangers return to action on Tuesday evening as they face Club Brugge in the first leg of their Champions League play-off.
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Daily Record
an hour ago
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There's an uncomfortable truth about Rangers under Russell Martin as fans clueless over needless passes
Hamza Igamane gave a demonstration of the type of personality this Ibrox line-up is crying out for. Tuesday night against Club Brugge will come too soon for Hamza Igamane. But if there's one thing the Rangers support must now be realising, it's that the sooner they can get the maverick Moroccan in their team the better. He only featured for 22 brief minutes during Saturday's drab win over Alloa and didn't manage a shot on target, never mind a goal. And yet in the short time the striker gave a demonstration of the type of personality this Ibrox line-up is crying out for. He held the ball, took on defenders and while his couple of strikes on goal were off target, he wasted no time pulling the trigger. And the whole time he walked with the kind of swagger no Rangers player has shown since the days of peak Alfredo Morelos. Russell Martin shot a wry grin as he praised his 'mad' second-half cameo. Right now, Gers would be crazy to consider selling the only man who seems to have the cahonas to do what Martin requires of his striker. Igamane was linked with Lille this summer but the French outfit baulked at Gers' £15million valuation. There have been suspicions that the club have been reluctant to throw him into battle this season for fear of jeopardising any late bids that might appear before the end of the window. But if Rangers are serious about reaching the Champions League - and surely they should be with £40million on the line - then his inclusion against play-off round opponents Brugge is a gamble they have to consider. Martin poured cold water on that prospect when speaking after Saturday's win, insisting the 22-year-old is not ready to start having sustained a knock on the back of a late return to pre-season. That might well be true, but Igamane showed enough in his short run out against Alloa to show he could be the key piece Martin's jigsaw is missing. If the Light Blue legions are honest, most of them still don't have much of a clue what the boss is trying to achieve with his new-look line-up. Each move begins with a succession of seemingly needless passes, all played at walking pace, but breaks down when the ball, after an eternity, finally reaches the final third. It's that lack of presence at the top of the pitch that is leading to the multitude of problems Rangers have been having at the other end. Seven games in and they've now allowed their opponents to pepper their goal with 108 shots. The vast majority appear to have come after Martin's team have turned over possession with their attack and midfield wide open. If his game plan is to work, Martin's plan hinges on having a centre forward with not only the talent and technique to hold the ball, but also the attitude. Igamane has all three in plentitude. Danilo was back in against the Wasps at the weekend but when it comes to leading-man qualities, the Brazilian simply doesn't have it. Cyriel Dessers faces a race to be fit for this week's first leg clash with the Belgians having somehow injured himself while engaging a spot of amateur dramatics in that second-leg loss to Viktoria. But it's the lack of consistency which means the flakey frontman remains such an enigma at Ibrox. He was superb in the 3-0 opener against the Czechs, providing the perfect link between wideman Djeidi Gassama and Oliver Antman. Yet a week later, his cushion-soft first touch had been replaced with one bearing all the deftness of a cement breeze block. The bizarre twist he suffered while trying to con the referee into believing that he'd been slapped in the face meant he sat out the Premier Sports Cup win over Alloa. And so yet again the Ibrox fanbase were forced to sit and watch a team without a focal point trudge through the motions. The fans had been hoping to see Spurs kid Mikey Moore provide a spark after finally cutting through the red tape that had been holding up his loan move. There were a couple of glimpses of pace and power from the 18-year-old winger but Rangers need more of that from those around him. It looked like Gers had lit the blue touch paper when Nedim Bajrami swept home a fabulous finish for the opener. But instead of exploding into life, a team that still has it all to prove opted to settle back in for another round of dull keep-ball. Inevitably, that complacency was pounced upon by Andy Graham's League One battlers. A team made up of joiners and sparks were only too happy to take advantage when Gers downed tools. The part-timers got themselves level but the omnishambles of an equaliser was as much down to Rangers' lethargy as it was Alloa's eagerness. Be it Manny Fernandez's slack pass to Nasser Djiga, Bailey Rice's half-hearted attempts to stop Steven Buchanan from scampering into the box or Max Aaron's slap-stick clearance which skelped off Joe Rothwell's coupon before trundling over the line, it was a mess from start to finish. That produced the first murmurs of a grumble but thankfully for Martin, there was no repeat of the deafening jeers which swept round the place after last week's Dundee draw as Fernandez marked his own debut with a goal. If the giant centre-back was any more laid back he'd be horizontal and there were moments where the crowd had to give him a rocket. He might not look the kind of dependable centre-half Rangers could really do with right now but the £2.5million recruit from Peterborough is certainly a threat from set-pieces, as proved when he nodded home from Joe Rothwell's free-kick to restore the hosts' lead. With Rice off with a hamstring strain, skipper James Tavernier was sent on for a rare run-out at left back. But it was his cool spot-kick finish that gave Gers some breathing space after Cameron O'Donnell's handball was picked up by the VAR watchmen. Once again, however, Martin watched his team come off the gas and pay a price. O'Donnell's deep free kick was headed off the bar by David Devine, leaving Scott Taggart to poke home with 10 minutes remaining. That raised the anxiety levels for a second time but Findlay Curtis's goal brought relief just before the end. Next up is a Brugge side that reached the last 16 of Uefa's top tournament. Time will tell if that's a task that's come too soon for Martin's men.


Daily Record
an hour ago
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Celtic's mixed Champions League play-off history as Brendan Rodgers looks to avoid unwanted curse
Celts have played in the final qualification hurdle in Europe's prestigious competition on 11 occasions Celtic bid to reach the promise land of the Champions League this week when they take on Kairat Almaty of Kazakhstan in the play-off round. And if history is anything to go by, the Hoops' chances of getting past the final qualification hurdle remains firmly in the balance. Brendan Rodgers ' side have automatically entered the group stages of Europe's premier competition in the past three seasons but Scotland's slide down the UEFA co-efficient rankings means that they will have to negotiate a two-legged tie to enter the revamped group stage, which has now been converted into an eight game league format. The Premiership champions welcome Kairat to Parkhead on Wednesday before making the 3,536-mile trek to Asia for the return leg six days later - having previously faced rivals from Kazakhstan at this stage twice before. And while Celtic have seen off rivals from the nation on two occasions, Rodgers won't want to break that streak and create unwanted history. In face, there is plenty of lessons for the boss as Celtic have taken part in the play-off round of the Champions League on 11 occasions down the years and to say they have had some mixed fortunes would be putting it mildly. Record Sport takes a look at the Hoop's history in the fixture as fans once again dream of mixing it with Europe's elite. Astana (Kazakhstan) –2017 Coincidentally, the last time Celtic took part in the Champions League play-off round also came against Kazakhstani opposition. during Rodgers' first stint in Glasgow's East End. After smashing Linfield 6-0 over two legs and edging out Rosenborg of Norway on aggregate in the third qualifying round, Celtic squared off against Astana for a place in the group stages in the 2017/18 season. Celts romped to a 5-0 home victory in the first leg as Scott Sinclair helped himself to a brace before falling to a 4-3 loss in the return fixture that saw them progress 8-4 on aggerate. The Hoops would go onto finish third in a group that featured Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich - infamously losing 7-1 to the former - before dropping into the Europa League, where they were dumped out in the round of 32 by Zenit St Petersburg 3-1 over two legs. Hapoel Be'er Sheva (Israel) –2016 A year earlier, Rodgers' secured Champions League group stage football in his debut season at Parkhead after surviving a bit of a scare against Hapoel Be'er Sheva. The Hoops claimed a 3-2 aggregate win against Astana in the previous round to set up a play-off clash with the Israeli outfit. They scored a comfortable 5-2 victory at Celtic Park - with skipper Scott Brown rounding off the scoring - but were left desperately clinging onto that advantage when Hapoel went 2-0 in the return fixture, requiring just one more goal to knock Celtic out on away goals. Fortunately, Rodgers' side held on and went onto finish bottom in a challenging group that consisted of Barcelona, Manchester City and Borussia Mochengladbach, memorably playing out a 2-2 draw with the Premier League giants under the lights in Glasgow. Malmo (Sweden) –2015 However, that triumph was preceded in the previous campaign by a disappointing showing against Malmo that saw Celtic fall at the final hurdle in Champions League qualifying. Ronny Deila's team made light work of Icelandic minnows Stjarnan before narrowly getting back Qarabag of Azerbaijan to line up against the Swedish side. Despite winning the first leg 3-2 at home, Celtc' were dumped out when they were beaten 2-0 in the reverse fixture, with defender Dedrick Boyata turning the decisive goal into his own net. They didn't fare much better in the Europa League group stages either, failing to win in any of there six games against Molde, Fenerbahce and Ajax to finish rock bottom of the section. Maribor (Slovenia) –2014 Deila's attempt to reach the Champions League promise land had also ended in failure in the first of his two seasons in the dugout. Celtic spanked RK Reykjavik of Iceland 5-0 over two legs and left themselves a mountain to climb by losing 4-1 in Poland to Legia Warsaw in the following round. Deila's side were then initially sent packing with another 2-0 loss at home before being awarded a 3-0 win that saw them progress on away goals after UEFA ruled that Legia had fielded an ineligible player. But their run would run out in the play-off round, bowing out to Slovenian team Maribor with a 1-0 defeat at Parkhead after claiming a 1-1 draw in the first leg on an away soil. The Europa League would offer something of a reprieve for the Norwegian, with Celtic advancing from the group stages before admirably getting knocked out to Inter Milan in the knockout phase. Shakhter Karagandy (Kazakhstan) –2013 Celtic did emerge victorious in the Champions League play-off 12 months earlier under Neil Lennon, but had to pull off a remarkable comeback to do it. The Hoops found themselves 2-0 down to Kazakh outfit Karagandy going into the return leg at Parkhead after getting back Cliftonville and Elfsborg to reach the play-off. Goals from Kris Commons and Georgios Samaras levelled things up before James Forrest bagged the crucial winner in injury time just as the tie looked to be heading for extra time. Celtic went onto struggle in the group stage, losing five of their six matches in a group of death with AC Milan, Barcelona and Ajax to suffer an early exit. Helsingborgs (Sweden) –2012 Progression to the group stage was a much more straightforward process at the beginning of the 2012/13 campaign. Lennon's men racked up a 4-1 win on aggregate against HJK Helsinki before winning 2-0 in both legs against Helsingborgs of Sweden to earn their place amongst Europe's elite. And that journey proved to be one of the best in recent memory, with a famous 2-1 victory against Barcelona helping them reach the round of 16 where they fell to Turin giants Juventus in two matches that Efe Ambrose will forever be trying to live down. Arsenal (England) –2009 You then have to go back another three years for the next time Celtic appeared in the Champions League play-off when they were dealt a tough hand by being drawn against Arsenal. Celts edged past Dynamo Moscow to set up the clash with the Gunners but Arsene Wengers' side had too much for them, winning 2-0 at Parkhead before finishing the job off with a 3-1 triumph in North London. Spartak Moscow (Russia) –2007 Two years earlier, Celtic's quest to get into the competition was decided by penalty shootout. Consecutive 1-1 draws against Spartak Moscow saw the tie go to spot kicks, with the Parkhead club progressing after scoring four of their five penalties against Spartak's three. And the campaign proved to be a memorable one, with Gordon Strachan scoring impressive home victories against AC Milan and Benfica to secure last 16 place against Barcelona, where Celtic were defeated 4-2 on aggregate. MTK Hungaria (Hungary) –2003 A comprehensive drubbing of MTK Hungaria saw Martin O'Neill's Celtic secure passage from the Champions League play-off in the 20023/04 season. Celtic thumped Lithuanian outfit FBK 5-0 on aggregate to take on the Hungarians and won by the same score line over two legs to reach the group stage. They went onto narrowly miss out on a place in the knockout stage and reached the last eight of the UEFA Cup before falling to Villareal 3-1 on aggregate. Basel (Switzerland) –2002 Celtic were on the end of a Champions play-off exit to Basel in 2002 that was soon followed by the club's epic run to the UEFA Cup final. They squandered a 3-1 advantage at home to go out on away goals with a 2-0 defeat in Switzerland but after dropping down into the second tier competition, went all the way to Seville after claiming imperious victories against Stuttgart, Premier League duo Liverpool and Blackburn and Boavista of Portugal. A staggering 80,000 fans made the trip to Spain to take in the final against Porto but it ended in heartbreak for Celtic, with Jose Mourinho's stellar team lifting the trophy with a 3-2 win after extra time. Ajax (Netherlands) –2001 The Hoops did reach the group stage 12 months earlier after getting by Eredivisie powerhouses Ajax. Celtic claimed a priceless 3-1 victory in the Dutch capital courtesy of goals from Chris Sutton, Didier Agathe and Bobby Petta and progressed from the play-off despite losing 1-0 at home in the reverse leg. O'Neill's men won three of their five group matches - including famous triumphs against Porto and Juventus - but were unfortunate to miss out on the knockout rounds, dropping into the third round of the UEFA Cup were they suffered an agonising exit on penalties to Rafa Benitez's Valencia.


Daily Record
an hour ago
- Daily Record
Celtic have the Champions League headache you want while Jury diagnoses Rangers with something more troublesome
The Record Sport writers looka ahead to the playoff action and deliberate on Kieron Bowie and Lennon Miller's Scotland chances Celtic kick-off their Champions League quest on Wednesday at home to FC Kairat - what are Brendan Rodgers' big selection calls? ANDY NEWPORT: Arne Engels was certainly a lot better against Falkirk but his brilliant Bairns display might have come too late to budge Benjamin Nygren from the team, who seems to be flavour of the month with the manager. GRAEME YOUNG: Rejuvenated Arne Engels may well have played himself back into the first choice starting XI with his all-action display against Falkirk. It will allow Benjamin Nygren to play on the right wing and keep James Forrest as an option from the bench. ROSS PILCHER: Arne Engels has given him food for thought. The Belgian looked like he was back to doing what he does best against Falkirk after a few months of not a lot. Fitting him and Nygren into the same XI could be the way to go. And what decisions does Russell Martin have to make as he picks his line-up for Tuesday's play-off crunch with Club Brugge. ANDY: It looks like Jayden Meghoma could be handed a baptism of fire if his move from Brentford can be completed in tim e. With Jefte on the way out, Martin needs a left back in quick. Otherwise it will be Max Aarons back in a slot where he's looked so uncomfortable. GRAEME: Nico Raskin has to start and Cyriel Dessers is another who must be in from the off a week after suffering an injury which appeared season-ending. But this goes beyond personnel as Martin and his gung-ho side must avoid a knockout blow in the first leg. ROSS: Who will play left back for a start. Jefte seems to be out the door and Max Aarons apparently isn't a long term solution on either side of the defence, which didn't look too clever against Alloa. Kieron Bowie blasted a wonder goal for Hibs in their Conference League win over Partizan - has he fired his way into the Scotland starting line up for next month's World Cup qualifiers? ANDY: He's in form and looking confident so it's a no brainer from me. It was great to see him having the belief to take that strike on but there's so much more to his game that could be useful to Steve Clarke. GRAEME: Yes, we have found our talisman for years to come. The audacity of his Puskas Award contender has the world talking but it's the unglamourous parts of his game which sets him apart. A star in the making. ROSS: Lyndon Dykes bagging a late winner for Birmingham was a timely reminder to Steve Clarke that he can score goals. But if Bowie keeps it up and stays fit over the next few weeks, he probably deserves a start. Lennon Miller has completed his £5million move to Udinese - should he also be fast-tracked into the national team? ANDY: I'd love to see him get a proper chance to show his abilities against Denmark and Belarus but he's up against Scott McTominay and Billy Gilmour for a place in the team and as Lewis Ferguson knows, shifting that pair ain't easy. GRAEME: It feels likely. No transfer is a sure thing but Serie A appears made for Miller's skillset and the maturity which belies his tender years means you cannot rule out a key role at international level. ROSS: We're still pretty strong in midfield and Lewis Ferguson had to wait longer than was really fair despite tearing up trees in Serie A, so don't expect to see Miller lining up for Flower of Scotland just yet.