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Last night, Russell Martin celebrated leading Rangers to secure European group stage football in his debut season, yet he encouraged his team to aim for the Champions League.
A 1-1 draw away to Panathinaikos came courtesy of Djeidi Gassama’s stunning equaliser which saw the Scots progress 3-1 on aggregate.
Rangers are now set to compete against Viktoria Plzen in the third qualifying round, with the opening match scheduled for Tuesday at Ibrox following the Czech team’s 3-2 aggregate victory over Servette.
When asked if his team should now target UEFA’s premier tournament, Martin responded, ‘Yes, my role as head coach is to always push the players to achieve more.
‘I’m thrilled that we qualified tonight, but I need to expect more in terms of our performance. We have to improve, and I truly believe we will.
The Rangers players celebrated with the travelling fans after a draining night in Athens
John Souttar was a standout at the back for Russell Martin as the hosts piled on the pressure
Djeidi Gassama came on to net for the second time in as many weeks against the Greeks
‘We’re part of a club that expects to strive for victory in every match. That’s part of our motivation for being here, so we’ll give our absolute best effort and approach each challenge vigorously to see how far we can go.’
Martin expressed frustration with certain elements of his team’s performance but praised their resilience after they overcame a setback following Filip Djuricic’s header early in the second half.
‘I’m incredibly proud of them,’ he added. ‘The team, the staff, the fans were amazing, so it’s a big night for us.
‘Listen, we’re playing against a really good team, in a really difficult place to play. Over the two games, they’ve been very good, they are a very well coached team.
‘It’s probably as tough a draw as we could have had. So, they are going to have moments.
‘At half-time they had to compose themselves and they did exactly what I asked of them — they stuck together, they fought, they dug in, and in the second half we played some really good football as well.
‘But we’ll get better and they’ll grow so much from that. I said to the players before the game that they had an opportunity not many people get to have on nights like this and to make the most of it. I’m really proud of them.’
Asked what he felt the result would do for the squad in terms of their learning process, Martin said: ‘From a psychological and spirit and energy point of view, they’ll have so much they should take so much from tonight.
Jack Butland made a vital stop to deny Panathinaikos forward Facundo Pellistri in the first half
‘And also tactically and technically with the detail that we were asking from them, the second half was so much better.
‘There’s still a few mistakes and the pitch was tough at times for them, but they really stuck to it and showed big courage and composure.’
Gassama, who scored in the first leg in Glasgow, is fast becoming a fans’ favourite following his move from Sheffield Wednesday.
Asked how big a decision it was not to start the winger, Martin said: ‘Listen, it is a tough call to leave anyone out of the team, especially when someone had such an impact on the bench.
‘But we went for consistency, players that played together more. Gas is still catching up for sure. He knows what we think of him, he also knows he has to be patient.
‘He’s more ready to start now than he has been before tonight, so I’m pleased with him.’
