Rangers travel to Austria this evening to face Sturm Graz in the UEFA Europa League, seeking a response after a poor start to the season both domestically and in Europe.
The Light Blues suffered a 1-0 defeat at home to Genk in the opening matchday of the Europa League, a game marred by Mohamed Diomande’s red card late in the first half.
On Sunday, however, Russell Martin’s side claimed their first league victory after six attempts, edging Livingston 2-1 thanks to a dramatic 94th-minute winner from Max Aarons. While James Tavernier opened the scoring and missed a penalty, the late winner ended what has been Rangers’ worst start to a league campaign since 1978.
Speaking ahead of tonight’s clash, Martin expressed confidence in his squad despite the difficult start.
He said: “Yes, I'm looking forward to it, really looking forward to it. I think we're growing all the time, and tonight is another opportunity to show that.”
The Rangers boss has noticed a positive lift in his squad since the transfer window closed. “It feels very different since the transfer window closed, and we've had a couple of good performances, so we now need to really build on that and win the game tonight,” Martin added.
The Austrian hosts pose a different challenge to anything Rangers have faced recently. “They're a very set way of doing things, very vertical. A lot of players crowd in the middle of the pitch, so we have to do our best to try and nullify that but also turn the game to the one that we want to, which is always the aim for us,” Martin explained.
Experience will be key for Rangers’ young squad, asked about how his new-look side were gelling post transfer window Martin said: “We have a generally young group, and you can see that with the bench we've got as well. Nights like this help them, and they're going to need the experienced guys that have been there, especially last season.
“They had a really good time in this competition to help them, and I feel we're getting more and more in that place where the guys have more understanding.”
There will be one change from Sunday’s league triumph, with Youssef Chermiti coming into the side to replace Bojan Miovski. “It's about freshness, about energy, and it's about different people suiting different games. I think tonight Youssef will help us,” Martin confirmed.
Looking ahead, the Rangers manager stressed the importance of building momentum: “Every game now is an opportunity for us to, one, win, of course, but to grow, to build, improve on what we're doing.
“If we improve from what we did on Sunday, we did some really good stuff, then it gives us a really good chance to win the game tonight.”
Kick-off in Austria is set for this evening, with Rangers hoping to bounce back and kick off their push in Europe after finally earning a domestic win.