'Not a good sight': Rangers ace fires Celtic warning and hails 'new' Ibrox squad after Panathinaikos test

Russell Martin’s squad went into the game in Athens with a two goal lead following their 2-0 first leg victory at Ibrox last week, but were forced to dig deep in the Greek capital as the home side put pressure on the Rangers defence in sweltering heat.

The Gers stuck to their task though, and ground out a 1-1 draw thanks to a fine strike from substitute Djeidi Gassama, who equalised for Rangers just seven minutes after Filip Đuričić’s had opened the scoring for the home side in the 53rd minute.

The 3-1 aggregate victory sets up a Champions League third qualifying round clash with Viktoria Plzeň at Ibrox next week, however, Aarons is convinced the early season tests in Europe will also be of huge benefit to Rangers domestically, as they look to wrestle the Scottish Premiership title from Celtic this season.

“The weather here, we are not used to that,” said Aarons. “Coming here for the second leg, against a team at the top of their league is always going to extremely difficult. We knew what we were coming into tonight, and a different game to how it was at Ibrox. We had to grind it out. It's so early on in our time here, we've had five weeks with this manager and new players.

“It is definitely a test, and we've come through it. We grew into the first leg, and we grew into the game in this one as well. It is a great test for us, seeing this group can dig in to win, leagues, cup competition - anything - and get as far as you can. You look to the side and know we are going to battle, which is really good to see.

“These are the nights you want to be a part of, through to the next round and it is a massive step for this group. It gives us confidence going into the league. This is a real step for the squad especially after being together for just five weeks.”

Aarons, who joined on loan from AFC Bournemouth last month, also reserved praise on fellow new signing Gassama, after the French winger’s vital goal off the bench. The ex-Sheffield Wednesday man has enjoyed a blistering start to his Rangers career, with two goals in his first two appearances, and Aarons has called on the under-20 international to take his explosive start into their league season, which begins with a visit to Motherwell this Saturday.

“As a full-back, seeing him come on after 60 or 70 minutes, it's not a good sight to see for the opposition,” explained the Rangers loanee. “He's needs to keep doing what he is doing, coming on and contributing as he did. Findlay [Curtis] as well, these are big nights and to come through them, and have these experiences is massive. We are rising to the challenge at the moment.”

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