Are Rangers up to the task?

BBC News

30-07-2025

Can Rangers pass a stern "test of character" tonight in Athens and advance to the third round of Champions League qualifying?Russell Martin's men take a 2-0 lead into the away leg against Panathinaikos but learned plenty about the Greek side's threat at Ibrox, especially during the first half when they were pinned back and indebted to Jack Butland for keeping the score level.Martin's build-from-the-back philosophy was evident in his first game in charge and is a double-edged sword, according to The Herald football writer Stephen McGowan.Speaking on the BBC's Scottish football podcast, he said: "I think Martin's style of play can be successful and attractive, but it will always be prone to mistakes and leading to the potential to be punished."And obviously, the European games, you're more likely to get punished than you are in domestic games."Panathinaikos weren't particularly impressive in that first leg, but it's still a dangerous draw for Rangers. And this game still does carry a bit of danger."What Rangers will need to do, and to their credit they have shown this before under previous managers, is handle a difficult environment."It's a test of character for this team. It's a new team playing a new style, and that does make them vulnerable, but two goals is a nice cushion to have in the second leg."Scottish coach and analyst John Walker believes Martin will make slight adjustments to Rangers' set-up tonight."Martin's always been quite clear is his style will always stay, but there'll be little tweaks," he said."I think he'll have looked at the areas in which they lost the ball from the Panathinaikos press and try and avoid those areas, so we might see full-backs a little wider to start."