Rangers' Champions League qualifier 'not season-defining', says Martin

Russell Martin insisted that Rangers' Champions League second-round qualifier against Panathinaikos would not define their season. 

Rangers welcome the Greek side to Ibrox Stadium on Tuesday in what will be Martin's first competitive game in charge of the club since being appointed back in June. 

The return leg takes place in Athens on July 30, with the winner of the tie facing either Czech side Viktoria Plzen or Swiss outfit Servette in the third qualifying round. 

Should Rangers lose, they will drop into Europa League qualification, where they will square off against Besiktas of Turkey or Shakhtar Donetsk of Ukraine. 

Rangers last reached the Champions League in 2022-23, losing all their games in a group containing Napoli, Liverpool and Ajax. 

And while Martin acknowledged the importance of this week's clash, he suggested that it would not outline what their 2025-26 campaign would look like. 

"It's not going to be a season-defining game, it's not. So it's a really, really big game," he said, while also confirming new signing Thelo Aasgaard is the only doubt for the match.

"A season is a long season. It will be defined by what we do between now and May.

"You can build it up to be that, it's a big game. Every game for Rangers is a big game, every game is a must-win.

"But it's not season-defining, the squad will look very different in four or five weeks. I'm convinced of that.

"The team we have now, the squad we have now, we have to put a performance that looks like us, feels like us, and one that we can build up and ultimately win the game."

Rangers are aiming to improve on an underwhelming Scottish Premiership campaign last year after finishing 17 points behind rivals and champions Celtic. 

They fared better in Europe, finishing eighth in the league phase of the Europa League before being knocked out of the competition in the quarter-finals by Athletic Bilbao. 

Martin has bolstered his squad with eight new arrivals, with Nasser Djiga and Max Aarons joining the club on loan from Wolves and Bournemouth, respectively. 

Elsewhere, Oscar Cortes, Djeidi Gassama, Emmanuel Fernandez, Joe Rothwell, Aasgaard and Lyall Cameron have all agreed permanent deals.

"I'm excited about it, I'm looking forward to the game. The players should, with the work they've put in for the last four weeks, be really excited about this game now," Martin said.

"In terms of preparation, work, physically, tactically, the connection between the way we work, I've been so pleased over the four weeks, but it's not a long time.

"I think tomorrow's going to be a real big test for us to see how far along we are, and see how much work we have to do.

"That's the most interesting and exciting bit for us as a coaching staff, is that tomorrow we will learn a lot about the group, and learn a lot about what we need to prioritise moving forward over the next few weeks."