Athens will sort out the mentality from the boys

Durrant: Martin will learn mettle of stars under pressure

- BY FRASER WILSON

IAN DURRANT reckons Wednesday's pressure pot in Athens will be the acid test of whether Russell Martin's Rangers have the minerals to play at the top level.

The Ibrox men head to Greece with a 2-0 first-leg cushion in their Champions League qualifier against Panathinaikos after the new boss opened his account in the best possible fashion.

But Durrant believes a tougher evening lies in store at Athens' Olympic Stadium where the home side will be fired-up by a hostile crowd and temperatures set to sizzle into the 30°Cs.

Martin handed competitive debuts to Joe Rothwell, Nasser Djiga, Max Aarons and goalscoring sub Djeidi Gassama in the first leg while Thelo Aasgaard could be added to the squad for the return.

And Durrant reckons 90 minutes under the microscope in the red-hot atmosphere of Pana's temporary home will tell the gaffer everything he needs to know about the mentality of his new-look team as they look to keep alive their £40m Champions League dream.

The Nine-in-a-row hero was part of a Rangers side that slumped 2-0 to AEK in the Greek capital 31 years ago.