TROOPING down to Govan in mid-July to see what the rebuilt, revamped, revitalised Rangers look like has become as much of an annual tradition for devotees of the Ibrox club as the Loving Cup celebration is for their directors every January.
Hope has sprung eternal among the Light Blues hordes that Mark Warburton, Pedro Caixinha, Steven Gerrard, Giovanni van Bronckhorst, Michael Beale and Philippe Clement have the smarts and the steel needed to lead them to silverware every summer during the past decade or so.
And eternally optimistic fans have always been eager to see if the close season recruits who their new or newish manager has brought on board during turbulent weeks of wholesale change have the ability and mentality required to turn them into the dominant side in Scotland and a force in Europe.
Rarely has the early promise which Rangers supporters have witnessed in the opening fixture ever been built upon – they have lifted the Scottish title on just one occasion since winning promotion to the top flight in 2016 – but still they flock through the turnstiles in their numbers at the beginning of every new campaign.
Read more:
Last night was no different. There was not a spare seat in the house to be had as James Tavernier and his team-mates launched their bid to reach the Champions League league phase with a second qualifying round meeting with Panathinaikos of Greece at home.
So will Bears be growling once again about their board’s poor choice of head coach and their hierarchy’s stupidity for sanctioning the signings of footballers who are clearly not up to the task come October?
Or are the new owners - a consortium that comprises 49ers Enterprises and American healthcare tycoon Andrew Cavenagh, who was in attendance for the first meaningful fixture of his reign as chairman – poised to deliver the success which the Glasgow giants’ legions of followers have long craved?
It would be wrong to read too much into this outing. It was only the second time that Russell Martin’s men, who drew 2-2 with Club Brugge of Belgium at Ibrox earlier this month, had played in front of supporters. Only three new boys, Nasser Djiga, Max Aarons and Joe Rothwell, were named in the starting line-up.
Rangers will need more matches to familiarise themselves with their manager’s formation and gameplan in a competitive environment. It would be premature to judge them after this tough 90 minutes against decent opposition. They have only been training as a group for four weeks. Many of them for far less than that.
Still, it is safe to say there is, despite the vital victory, room for improvement going forward. It is not an exaggeration to state that Rangers fans were not entirely impressed with what they witnessed during much of the evening. They lived dangerously at times and will need to do better in Athens next week to progress further in the continent’s elite club competition.
Rangers were bright early on. Spectators were struck by how Tavernier and Aarons pushed up and inside when the hosts were in possession. Central midfielder Rothwell was direct and used the ball well. Djiga was comfortable at the back. Are they significant upgrades on the players they replaced? Only time will tell.
Former Scotland centre-half Martins was as vocal and animated in his technical area as he was on the pitch in his playing days. He shouted instructions and gesticulated wildly from kick-off to the final whistle. He was certainly not slow to express his displeasure to fourth official Robertas Smitas if he felt that Lithuanian referee Donatas Rumsas had made a bad decision.
But he would not have been happy at the ease with which Rui Vitoria’s charges cut through his rearguard. His team would have been beaten had it not been for the outstanding saves which Jack Butland produced. His goalkeeper, who was dropped by his predecessor Barry Ferguson at the tail end of last season, denied Facundo Pelistri, Tasos Bakasetas and Filip Duricic brilliantly.
Read more:
The ex-MK Dons, Swansea City and Southampton manager is clearly not afraid to give youth a chance. Curtis struggled to cope with the pace and physicality of the game at times. But the 18-year-old, who was making his first European start, stuck to his task impressively and broke the deadlock in sensational fashion to more than justify his selection. He was a worthy recipient of the Man of the Match award. The Auchenhowie academy graduate will take confidence from his mature showing.
The 21-year-old winger ensured the night finished on a hugely positive note. But Martin will want to see more ruthlessness in the final third, greater cohesion in the middle of the park and better organisation at the back. Tavernier stated at the pre-match press conference that fans will not have witnessed a style of football like the one his new manager wants his side to play before. That was not exactly evident against Panathinaikos. But these remain early days and there were certainly signs that more is to come. The hope remains.
