29th July 2025; Spiros Louis Olympic Stadium, Athens, Greece; UEFA Champions League Second Qualifying Round Second Leg Football, Panathinaikos versus theRangers; Russell Martin speaks to the media. Photo Vagelis Georgariou
Q: There’s obviously been big changes at (the)Rangers. How do you see the challenge from them this season?
Brendan Rodgers: “I think the challenge is always… that excites you when you come into a new season. Russell [Martin], I don’t know that well, but I’ve spoken to him, and as a young manager and coach through his career, he’s done very well. I followed him at Swansea, as a former club, and he did well there. Then moving on, getting Southampton promoted is as good… I know how, you know, to take a team out of the Championship, it’s a tough, tough league. And he was able to do that. And then obviously the Premier League, it’s a really harsh place, it can be, and obviously then it was a difficult season for them.
“But Russell, having been up here before, knows the pressures because one of the big things of managing Celtic and (the)Rangers is managing pressure. The football idea and the coaching are obviously very important to have an identity and a style, but managing and playing under pressure is what’s key up here. And Russell, having been here before as a player at Rangers, will know what’s in front of him. But I think Rangers, Derek at Hearts, and a change at Killie with Stuart as well. I think the managers coming into the league… John [McGlynn] has done a brilliant job at Falkirk over a couple of seasons, getting them promoted, and I know him well, so I know that they’ll be giving everything to stay in the league.
“David Martindale, a good man who was in the league for a few years when I was here before and then obviously they went down, so they’ve come back up. Again, experienced managers. So I think the league as a whole will be strong and competitive.
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This board are chasing Brendan out the door with their pathetic low-ball offers for players,who can blame him if he walks away because the board are not backing him and gambling on reaching the champions league group stages before spending any of the millions they have squirreled away.
Shame you didn’t write this 10 years ago, Peter. You could’ve cut and pasted it every year and saved yourself the typing.
We had the chance to bury sevco once and for all , but lawell has stated “we need a strong rangers” !! You think if the shoe was on the other foot the govanites would have went easy on us ? No chance !