7 days ago
Rangers fired ominous Champions League warning from Panathinaikos star as ultimate scouting mission has foes battle ready
Panathinaikos beat Belgian side Westerlo 3-1 in a friendly in the Olympic Stadium and they reckon they're ready for Rangers
Panathinaikos are battle ready ahead of their showdown with Rangers – and in-form Adam Cerin says they've done everything to prepare for a 'difficult' match at Ibrox.
The Greek side head to Glasgow for their opening Champions League qualifier this time next week and eased to a victory in their final warmup friendly today.
They beat Belgian side Westerlo 3-1 in a friendly in the Olympic Stadium, where they will welcome Rangers for the return leg on July 30 – a week after the Ibrox clash.
Slovenian international midfielder Cerin scored one of their goals along with Uruguayan winger Facundo Pellistri and Greek youngster Adriano Bregou.
And Cerin said: "I think we have had a really good pre-season and that was a nice way to boost our confidence ahead of playing Rangers.
"We played a good game. We pressed very well. We did not allow the opponent to make passes. We were able to find opportunities from our pressing and defended solidly.
"These matches are always different from competitive games of course, but we showed we are in good shape.
"We know it's going to be a very difficult game at Ibrox and we have to factor in things like the atmosphere to our preparations.
"We will give our best for a result there so that we can come back to the Olympic Stadium with a real chance of qualifying."
It comes after boss Rui Vitoria has revealed they have studied Russell Martin 's team so closely, he even knows details about the Ibrox pitch.
Panathinaikos have already sent assistant coach Sergio Botelho to Ibrox to spy on Rangers in their pre-season friendly 2-2 draw with Club Brugge.
And Vitoria has made it clear they will leave no stone unturned when it comes to the level of detail about Rangers.
He said: "We watched Rangers in their last home friendly and we have acquired as much footage as possible from Rangers matches.
"We've learned about their management, coaches, players - everything we needed to know.
"We know about the new manager's philosophy. We even know about their pitch and how it impacts the team either positively or negatively.
"We have even studied climate conditions, everything.
"It goes without saying that it will be a very difficult game against a strong, traditional European team with quality.
"So far in pre-season in Austria, we have focused on our own team to improve on what we had set as our main priorities. Now we are back in Athens, we will now focus on the double matches against Rangers.
"Certainly, at the moment, we are not 100 per cent in any area, but neither will Rangers be.
"They have signed players who will raise their quality too. But with the players we have, I believe we will be highly competitive in the games. I am treating both games as finals. And I want to pass this mentality on to our players."
Tune in to Hotline Live every Sunday to Thursday and have your say on the biggest issues in Scottish football and listen to Record Sport's newest podcast, Game On, every Friday for your sporting fix, all in bitesize chunks.
