ALEX McLEISH watched his European ambitions collapse the last time Rangers took on Panathinaikos in the Champions League.
Now, he’s hoping Russell Martin’s squad can set things right on Tuesday night.
McLeish was in the Ibrox dugout when Rangers faced the Greek side in the group stages back in December 2003.
Their hopes of reaching the knockout rounds had already been dashed after consecutive away losses to Manchester United and Stuttgart, following a home defeat to the Old Trafford giants.
Rangers had begun the campaign strongly, defeating Stuttgart at home and securing a draw in Athens.
Even so, a victory over Panathinaikos in their final group game would have sent them into the UEFA Cup.
Instead, a 3-1 defeat left them rooted to the bottom of Group E on goal difference.
Michael Mols gave Gers the lead, but strikes from Raimondas Zutautas, Angelos Basinas, and Michalis Konstantinou turned the game on its head.
McLeish reflected: “We’d overcome FC Copenhagen in qualifying and made a solid start in the group against Stuttgart. We could even have won in Greece—they equalised in the dying moments. Still, a 1-1 draw was a decent result, and four points from two games was a strong foundation.”
“We struggled in the matches against United, and by the final game at Ibrox, the UEFA Cup was our only remaining target. Mols put us ahead, but they hit back immediately, took the lead, and then punished us on the counter as we pushed for an equaliser.”
“It was a disappointing performance, and I hope Rangers can put it right this time. After the Treble in 2002-03, we’d overhauled the squad—Barry Ferguson, Lorenzo Amoruso, Neil McCann, and Arthur Numan had all moved on. The team wasn’t as strong, and it showed in Europe. We were competitive against Panathinaikos, but not at the same level as before.”
McLeish understands the pressure on new boss Martin ahead of Tuesday’s clash—but he recalled his own first Old Firm derby as manager, the 2002 CIS Cup semi-final, for inspiration.
“I was pacing around my hotel room the night before, all these thoughts racing through my head,” he admitted. “There had been some doubt about my appointment, and we were facing a Celtic side chasing back-to-back Trebles.”
“Part of me was thinking, ‘What if you never beat them? You’ll be remembered as a failure.’ But the other part was saying, ‘Imagine if you win—what a moment that would be.’”
“I called Sir Alex Ferguson that night for advice. He told me to keep the defence solid but also to have players with that X-factor. Honestly, I didn’t expect Bert Konterman to be the one to deliver it—but his moment of magic won us the game.”
“That victory sparked our success—sometimes, one result changes everything. Russell will know this won’t be easy. Greece’s national team showed their quality against Scotland in March, so Panathinaikos won’t be pushovers.”
“Rangers might need to embrace the underdog mentality—stay compact but still have match-winners in attack. Russell had a tough job at Southampton, and he understands the demands here.”
McLeish also shared a memorable piece of advice from Walter Smith when he took the Rangers job:
“I asked him for any tips, expecting some deep wisdom. He just leaned in and said, ‘Just f* win—that’s all that matters.’ And that’s the mentality I carried into every game.”*
“Russell knows the expectations at Rangers—win every week, silence the critics. A strong result on Tuesday could be the spark he needs.”
