Russell Martin was delighted to secure progress at the hands of Panathinaikos as Rangers secured a 3-1 aggregate win with a 1-1 draw in Athens.

“I’m so proud of the team and the fans were absolutely amazing.

“It was a big night for us, and I don’t think it can be underestimated how difficult this tie was.

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In fact, it was probably the most difficult draw we could have had. Panathinaikos are a really good side and I hope they can go on to have a really good season.”

He was however far from happy with the opening 45 minutes.

“The first-half was so difficult, but we calmed things down at half-time. They dug in, they fought and there were some brilliant moments in the second-half with some big performances, and I’m really pleased. The second 45 minutes was much better.

“We had a set-back by conceding the goal but then we took the sting out of the game by responding and scoring really quickly which I am so proud of because it’s not easy.”

To the surprise of many, the ‘Gers Boss named Djeidi Gassama only as a substitute – but Martin would not commit himself other than by saying:

“It’s a tough call to leave anyone out of the team. He will need to be patient.”

The victory does ensure a guarantee of ‘Europa League’ participation – but Martin had only one goal in mind.

“I think that’s huge, it guarantees ‘Europa League’, so it’s fantastic, but we want to attack the ‘Champions League’ now and it gives us the license to do exactly that.”

Robert McElroy