Latest news with #AEKAthens
The Herald Scotland
3 days ago
- Sport
- The Herald Scotland
Rangers told to handle Athens heat and avoid Euro fate of Class of '94
But the Hall of Fame member can still recall how AEK Athens eased to a comfortable 2-0 victory against Walter Smith's team in a qualifying match in the Nikos Goumas Stadium back in 1994 and then edged to a 1-0 triumph away a fortnight later. That devastating and financially costly 3-0 aggregate reverse was suffered just months after Rangers had come within a whisker of reaching the final of Europe's elite club competition after going undefeated in all 10 of their matches. Read more: Durrant is confident that James Tavernier and his team mates will be able to handle the stifling heat in Greece next week – but feels the captain and other experienced members of the team will need to show they are unfazed by the hostile atmosphere in the Olympic Stadium. 'The manager will find out a lot about his players, about how they can handle that environment, that arena,' he said. 'Not just the heat, but the massive crowd. It'll be volatile. 'How will they handle it? He'll find a lot about these players, especially if he goes with the young ones again and plays them. We'll be finding out things in every game. But in that sort of environment, I think you'll find out a lot more. (Image: Promotional) 'We had a good, experienced team in the 1992/93 season. It should have been, could have been. Marseille were a phenomenal team, but we went toe to toe with them. It just shows you. But, again, eventually we fell at the last hurdle. 'I think when you go through that team, the experience we had against some really good sides, but in terms of the Marseille team, they were a phenomenal team. But you go toe to toe with them, it just shows you. 'But your Butlands, Taverniers, even your Rothwells, who's played at a great level, Raskins, and whoever plays up front, the spine of your team, they'll be called upon. They'll need to get regrouping, make sure everybody can handle it. Read more: 'Panathinaikos will be at Rangers from the first minute because they'll want to make it a game where they feel uncomfortable. It's how you handle it and how you react to things like that.' Looking back on his outing to Athens back in 1994, Durrant added, 'We shot ourselves in the foot with the goal we gave away. The gaffer was trying to get new players in at that time and it never clicked so early. Athens were better than us, simple as. Over the two legs, they were far better than us. 'It was very warm, but we'd done a pre-season. We used to do a pre-season in Italy. We sort of acclimatised to it. On the night, it doesn't really matter about the heat because you can get as much water in as you can. You've just got to make sure you perform over two legs. Against AEK we were nowhere near it.' Light Blues legend Ian Durrant was speaking as he promoted RYDC's Big Blue Jackpot, a new Rangers Lotto prize for supporters who can win guaranteed end-of-month jackpots of at least £12,000 and £15,000 from August. Full details at
Scotsman
11-07-2025
- Sport
- Scotsman
Harry Milne ready for a key Hearts role in the biggest opportunity of his career
James Penrice's £2m transfer to AEK Athens opens a gap Sign up to our Hearts newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to Edinburgh News, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Events may be aligning for Harry Milne to become Hearts' first-choice left-back this season. James Penrice's £2m transfer to AEK Athens is done, leaving Milne and Stephen Kingsley competing for the position. Kingsley has had injury issues lately but remains an experienced campaigner. For Milne, the biggest opportunity of his football career is now. Signed from Partick Thistle in January, the 28-year-old is a full-back long admired by the new Hearts head coach Derek McInnes. Milne was a transfer target for McInnes at Kilmarnock before the player moved to Tynecastle Park. He has now been joined by a manager he knows regards him highly. He is not daunted in the slightest at trying to follow the popular Penrice. In fact, it was Milne's aim to usurp last season's Hearts Player of the Year. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'It's an unbelievable move for James, but it's one I think he's deserved,' says Milne in an exclusive Edinburgh News interview. 'Last year was a pretty underwhelming season for the club but he was still one of the standouts, getting a mention in the Team of the Season. It's obviously a massive move for him. In terms of my perspective, yes it's changed in that there's one less person for competition - but it doesn't really change my mindset. 'When I first came in, I was going to be back up and try to push him as much as I could, but it was never really in my mind that I wanted to be the back up here. I wanted to push James and then try and get ahead of him. That's always been my perspective - trying to just be the best that I can be. Now that the position has opened up, there's still competition for it. There are still players here, as well as me, that all think that they deserve to be in that position. It's up to me to stamp my print on the position.' Milne's career prior to 2025 had been spent in Scotland's lower divisions. This is his first venture into the Premiership and he is anything but intimidated stepping into Penrice's void ahead of Saturday's Premier Sports Cup opener against Dunfermline. 'No, I don't think so. Every level I've played, I've managed to step up and I've adapted to that level well,' he says. 'I played a couple of games towards the end of last season [as Hearts won four games in a row] and I did well. 'I had a positive impact on the team and nothing really changed. There was no detrimental effect with me being in the team rather than James. That was positive. I look at my own game and my own qualities. I think I've got slightly different qualities to James. Hopefully, that fits in well with what the manager wants to implement here.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Scottish Premiership transfer is huge chance for Hearts defender He is fully aware of the chance to elevate his career to a new level if he can gain McInnes' trust ahead of Kingsley. Defensively sound and not frightened to attack, Milne has enough quality to suggest he can handle life at Tynecastle. 'Obviously, it would be big for me but I don't like to think about what it means for me,' he points out. 'I like to think more about how it would affect the team. 'I think I've got qualities that can really help to create better results for the team and help in a positive way. I want to play all the time. I think everyone in the squad wants to play all the time. I'm willing to work hard and do all the right things and prepare myself as well as I can so that, when it comes to picking the team, the gaffer thinks of me first.' The gaffer thought about him a fair bit at Rugby Park. McInnes' assistant, Alan Archibald, coached Milne at Thistle and tried to lure him to Kilmarnock before Hearts stepped in. 'We were aware of it at the time. We never actually dealt with the manager ourselves,' recalls Milne. 'We more dealt with Archie, who I had previously as a coach at Partick Thistle. We had that kind of informal discussion. It wouldn't have been something that Kilmarnock were able to do in the January window. It would have been something for the summer.' There is a feeling that this was meant to be, then. Milne was joined at Hearts a few weeks ago by McInnes and Archibald and is eager to seize the left-back slot. Saturday is the first competitive outing of the new season and a chance to build momentum ahead of next month's Premiership kick-off. 'Yes, absolutely. There are a lot of positive things,' notes Milne. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'There's a fresh look to a lot of the team. A lot of new signings have come in. Obviously, the manager and the management staff as well. It's a fresh start, if you like. We've put last season's woes behind us and will try to start with a positive result. It's nice to play at home and Dunfermline are a big club. I think they are bringing 1,400 fans. It creates a good atmosphere and everyone's buzzing for the first day of the season again. 'It feels like it's come around pretty quick, to be honest. It always feels like that when you're in the League Cup group phase at this time. It meant that pre-season has been a bit rammed. You try to fit in four or five weeks of work into two or three. I think that's benefited us, actually. It's not actually the worst thing, being in this competition. You'd rather be playing in Europe at this time of the year. It does mean that your pre-season's a little bit shorter. You actually get to get into the proper games a little bit quicker, which is always nice.' The absence of European ties will hit hard in Gorgie this summer after three successive years of continental competition. If there is to be a return to that arena 12 months from now, the hard work starts now. 'Absolutely. Momentum is huge,' says Milne. 'We have had a couple of friendly games already. I feel like we've been trying to implement a lot of new ideas from the manager and the staff. Different ways that we're pressing and things like the way we set up. 'I think, as each of the friendly games went on, we developed that more and more. The results got progressively better. We had a good result against East Kilbride during the week. Dunfermline will set up on Saturday and they're going to try to come and be hard to beat. That's pretty obvious, being a team in a lower division, coming to a stadium like Tynecastle. I expect we'll have quite a lot of the ball at times. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'They are in the same boat as well with a fairly new manager. Neil Lennon's got the job permanently now, whereas it looked like he was just going to be in until summer. He'll be eager to come in and put his own stamp on things and give that Dunfermline side a bit of fresh perspective going into the season. It's the first game of the season. Everyone wants to start well and everyone wants to start fast. I think it'll be 100 miles an hour and it's just up to us to take control of it.'
Scottish Sun
11-07-2025
- Sport
- Scottish Sun
Three high-profile Rangers stars posted missing as Russell Martin takes training at St George's Park
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) THREE high-profile Rangers stars were posted missing at a sun-kissed St George's Park today as Russell Martin put his stars through their paces. And perhaps their identities should be no surprise whatsoever considering all THREE are the source of intrigue over a potential exit from the club. Sign up for the Rangers newsletter Sign up 3 Rangers manager Russell Martin during a training session Credit: PA 3 Rangers manager Russell Martin during a training session Credit: PA Perhaps the least surprising absentee should be defender Robin Propper, with the Dutchman appearing increasingly likely to put the final touches on a move back to his homeland to face FC Twente. But far more interesting perhaps were the absences of strike duo Hamza Igamane and Cyriel Dessers, neither of whom made an appearance at the public part of drills on Friday. Assuming there's been no injuries, it's inevitable speculation will run ahead to potential exits. Dessers is of major interest to AEK Athens, although Russell Martin said at the weekend that the two clubs were miles apart on their valuations of the club's most prolific current striker. Then there is the mercurial Moroccan Hamza Igamane, who has been heavily linked with a move to French side Lille. Again no agreement has been reached between the two clubs, although the window still has a fair distance to run. More to follow. 3 Keep up to date with ALL the latest news and transfers at the Scottish Sun football page
BBC News
09-07-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
'Just when we get gift of Shankland staying, we lose Penrice'
Hearts head coach Derek McInnes admits the departure of James Penrice is a "blow" but the "right thing" for the player and club after the left-back sealed a move to Greek side AEK former Kilmarnock manager was still revelling in retaining striker Lawrence Shankland an exit accelerated for Penrice, a player McInnes believes resembled a young Andy Robertson when he arrived at Tynecastle."Just when you get your best Christmas present, James Penrice gets sold later that day," he quipped."That was a blow for us because we were really looking forward to working with James. But such was the deal for the club and for the boy, it was the right thing. "I thought it was a brilliant signing for Hearts when they got him. I tried to take him to Kilmarnock. I think he was almost like a young Andy Robertson when he got his move."I thought there were similarities. When I got the job at Hearts, I was kind of regretting saying that and thinking: 'I hope we can just hold on to him'. But we always felt he was a slight risk. "I think he's done brilliantly for Hearts and he's deserving of the opportunity that's been given to him."Despite that blow, McInnes believes there is potential within the squad to take on Penrice's role."We've got Harry Milne and Stephen Kingsley that can play those positions," he explained."Harry Milne's a boy who, probably when he signed, was probably seen for this sort of circumstance when James was moved on. "Such was the high level from James when he signed, he probably caught a few by surprise. I know from speaking to [former head coach Steven Naismith] he was even better than he thought."Who's to say Harry can't go and do something similar? It's important we try and get that from whoever's in the building."Meanwhile, McInnes revealed defender Jamie McCart will not require surgery but faces "six to eight weeks" out with an ankle Hearts boss also said goalkeeper Craig Gordon was only "slowly" recovering from a shoulder the 42-year-old Scotland international, McInnes said: "I think Craig has his eyes on his testimonial game [against his former club Sunderland on July 26] but I think he's probably got a lot to do to be ready for that."
The National
07-07-2025
- Sport
- The National
AEK Athens to 'contact' Rangers AGAIN over Dessers transfer
The Greek giants tried and failed in a previous bid to land the Nigerian international. Russell Martin yesterday revealed that the Ibrox club had rejected a bid from an unnamed club for last season's top goalscorer. It's believed that the offer was from AEK. Now, according to renowned journalist Giannis Chorianopoulos, the European outfit - who have just signed James Penrice from Hearts - will look to make another bid. He wrote on X: "AEK Athens will contact again Rangers for Cyriel Dessers. "But Greek club are now considering some other striker options." "Cyriel has just been injured," Martin said after Rangers' 2-2 draw with Club Brugge on Sunday. "He's had a bit of a niggly ankle, so he's here today. "We turned down a bid a while ago for him that was nowhere near the valuation of the football club, and he's been great, he's desperate to train. "We've had to give him some treatment this week on his, on his ankle since he's been back. But I'm looking forward to working with him. "So, that's just nowhere near happening and hopefully, he will get on the training pitch this week, well, he will, and he'll start enjoying it. "But he's not kicked up one moment of fuss. He seems a really good professional and from what everyone tells me here, he is."
