Latest news with #IanDurrant
STV News
29-07-2025
- Sport
- STV News
Durrant: Rangers will need to ride their luck in the Athens heat
Ian Durrant says Rangers will need to ride their luck and deal with inhospitable conditions in Athens to keep their Champions League dream alive. The Ibrox side are taking a 2-0 lead to Greece, where they will face Panathinaikos in the second leg of the qualifying game on Wednesday. Former Gers midfielder Durrant believes Russell Martin won't change his tactics too much, with the emphasis on attacking their opponents, but with a bit of caution when needed. He said: 'You need a bit of luck, obviously, the conditions will be the same for both teams, but it will be hot so you'll need a bit of luck on your side. 'They've got a clean sheet and a two-goal advantage, so the manager will go there full of optimism, but it will be down to the players and what he sets them out to do. 'It will be hard, you are never going to be playing any mugs in the Champions League qualifiers, so you just have to get your job done and get on with it. 'The second half from last week will give the team a bit of belief. They rode their luck a little bit, and Jack Butland was called upon a few times, but they steadied the ship and scored two fantastic goals to take a two-goal lead over there. 'The manager's emphasis is on expansive, attacking football, and I think we'll see that. 'There will be a bit of caution, of course, you can't just go gung-ho; we saw last week that Panathinaikos opened Rangers up a few times, so they will have to rely on the defenders being defenders, then when you have the ball, you have to make good use of it.' Durrant insists the finances involved in the continent's top competition make it a priority for Rangers as they look to qualify for the first time since 2022. He said: 'Financially, it could be a big boost for the club. The manager will also want to do what he can in the Champions League, but financially, it would be huge, and if they get through, it will help to get better players in.' If they get past Panathinaikos, then Rangers will play either Viktoria Plzeň or Servette in the next qualifying round before a potential play-off. Get all the latest news from around the country Follow STV News Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country
Daily Record
27-07-2025
- Sport
- Daily Record
What Russell Martin will learn from Rangers side in heat of Athens as Ibrox legend asks 'can they handle it'?
New Ibrox boss got off to a flier against Panathinaikos in Govan but with the tie still far from over ahead of the return Ian Durrant reckons Wednesday's Champions League pressure pot in Athens will be the acid test of whether Russell Martin's Rangers side have the minerals to play at the top level. The Ibrox side head to Greece with a 2-0 first leg cushion against Panathinaikos after the new boss opened his account in the best possible fashion. But Durrant believes an even tougher evening lies in store in the Athens Olympic Stadium where the home side will be fired-up by a hostile crowd and with overhead temperatures set to sizzle into the 30s. Martin handed competitive debuts to Joe Rothwell, Nasser Djiga, Max Aarons and goalscoring sub Djeidi Gassama in the first leg while Thelo Aasgaard could be added to the squad for the return. And Durrant reckons 90 minutes under the microscope in the red hot atmosphere of Panathinaikos' temporary ground will tell the manager everything he needs to know about the mentality of his new-look team as they look to keep their £40m Champions League dream alive. The 9-in-a-row hero was part of a Gers side that slumped 2-0 to AEK in the Greek capital 31 years ago. And he said: 'You'll find out a lot. How they can handle that environment, that arena. 'Not just the heat, but the massive crowd. It'll be volatile. That's what you're in these games for. 'How you handle it. You'll find a lot of these players, especially if he goes with the young ones again and plays them. Every game we'll be finding out things. 'But in that sort of environment, I think you'll find out a lot more. Can they handle it? 'Your Butlands, Taverniers, even your Rothwells, who's played at a great level, Raskin, and whoever plays up front, the spine of your team, they'll be called upon. 'They'll need to get regrouping, make sure everybody can handle it. "Panathinaikos will be at Rangers from the first minute because they'll want to make it a game where they feel uncomfortable. It's how you handle it and how you react to things like that.' Durrant remembers Rangers 1994 Greek tragedy all too well. Walter Smith's side crashed out of the Champions League in qualifying after losing the second leg to AEK 1-0 at Ibrox back in 1994. That was despite big money having been spent to bring in Basile Boli and Brian Laudrup among other summer recruits. Rangers regrouped to go and win the title. But falling at the first hurdle in Europe never came with a safety net of the Europa League qualifiers and saw Smith's side come in for heavy criticism. Durrant, who made 346 appearances for Rangers, reckons the games arriving so early in the season add to the heat on Scottish sides. But he insists there will be no excuses should Rangers fail to advance to a third qualifying round clash against either Servette or Viktoria Plzn - especially over the temperature. He said: 'We shot ourselves in the foot with the goals we gave away back in 1994. 'Again, the gaffer was trying to get new players in at that time and it never clicked so early. "Athens were better than us, simple as. Over the two legs, they were far better than us. 'Yeah, it was very warm over there, but again we'd done a pre-season. We used to do a pre-season in Italy. We sort of acclimatised to it. 'On the night, it doesn't really matter about the heat because you can get as much water in as you can. You've just got to make sure you perform against over two legs. And against AEK we were nowhere near it.' Meanwhile, Durrant bumped into legendary boss Sir Alex Ferguson at Tuesday's first leg against Panathinaikos - and reckons the legendary Manchester United boss will have imparted some gold dust wisdom on Martin. He said: 'I saw him, he was looking great. 'He's given the new manager a glowing response. He thinks he'll do really well, so if you're getting something off Sir Alex, he must be well thought of! 'If the manager can go and bounce things off him, there's nobody better to listen to and learn from than Sir Alex. 'I just think his presence about the club, everywhere he goes, not just here but anywhere, you just want to be a sponge and try to absorb as much as you can from him.'
Daily Record
24-07-2025
- Sport
- Daily Record
What Russell Martin told the Rangers legends as Ibrox icon opens up on big pow wow
The Ibrox boss invited a gang of greats into the club to hear their thoughts and spell out his own vision Ian Durrant has pulled back the curtain on the meeting he and other legends had with new Rangers boss Russell Martin. Martin invited a clutch of Ibrox icons into the fold so he could glean some advice – and set out his own vision for the Scottish giants. Durrant got a close-up feel for the new manager and his plans for Rangers when the 58-year-old was ushered into Auchenhowie along with fellow ex-Gers greats Lee McCulloch and John Brown. And first impressions were positive. Durrant said: 'It was nice. I've been doing a wee bit of work with the club and they invited us over. 'He was just bouncing a few things off us, asking us what we think. 'We told him - you just need to win. That's the be all and end all. 'Get your the recruitment right. He was good. 'He spoke very well, just the way he outlined the way he wants to go. You've got to back him. 'He's certainly got the backing of the club now with the new regime coming in. As I said, there will be tough games, especially the Champions League qualifier. 'You've got the second leg now. There's a financial burden in terms of what that could do for the club. It's come at an early time but he's working every day. 'He spoke about the fitness levels of the team. 'It looked like the second half on Tuesday that he's worked them really hard. He had a great week down at St George's. He's got all his players back. 'He's hopefully got a couple more players now. Hamza Igamane and Cyriel Dessers missed a fair chunk of pre-season. 'They're a wee bit behind but they'll get game time on Saturday. 'He wants his team so fit. He said that the way he plays, it might take the last 10-15 minutes to break teams down but the only way they're going to break them down is if they are fitter than the other teams.'
