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Irish Times
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Irish Times
Johnny Giles was the footballer, John Giles was the pundit – both were geniuses in their own way
Forget honesty of effort, forget doing your stuff. The first time I became aware of Johnny Giles , he was doing a rabona. Nobody called it that, not at the time he did it in March 1972 nor whatever year in the 1980s it was when I came to see it on video. But he pulled it out, insouciant as you like, in a famous passage of play during a Leeds game when they were 7-0 up on Southampton. Even now, when you look it up on YouTube, the astonishing thing is that none of the Southampton players went over and buried him for it. Leeds were, to put a Fifa-approved technical term on it, prick-acting about – Billy Bremner was doing keepy-uppies and back-heeling passes for no reason other than to embarrass the opposition. Given that it would have taken the wielding of a chainsaw to be sent off in those days, it was always a wonder Gilsey didn't get a slap for his messing. God alone knows why we had it on video. Ours was not a Leeds United house, nor anything close to it. But it was there, along with footage from the 1984 Uefa Cup final between Spurs and Anderlecht – again, no idea why, for we were even less of a Spurs house. I suspect it was more that we were a house where a football-obsessed little boy lived and so any small bit of it that was on, somebody hit record. READ MORE So that was my introduction to Johnny Giles. And for years, it was the only thing I knew about him. I was too young to have seen him play and his time as Ireland manager predated me too. I knew nothing of his attempts to make Shamrock Rovers a superpower and what I now know as his reputation for being a taciturn old grouch with the media couldn't have made less of an impression. All I knew was that he was adored by old men (back then, anybody over 19 was old). That, and the one time I'd seen him do anything with a ball, he'd waited for it to bobble over to him on a cabbage field of a pitch and calmly flicked his left boot behind his right ankle to whip it down the line to Allan Clarke. 'Poor Southampton don't know what day it is,' gurgled Barry Davies on commentary. 'Every man jack of this Leeds side is turning it on. Oh, look at that! It's almost cruel.' (The 'Oh, look at that!' was Gilesy's flick). Later, when I'd see him on RTÉ as a pundit, I initially found it impossible to square the circle. Hang on, so this guy who is forever preaching simplicity and not forcing it and doing the right thing, this is the same dude that's in the Leeds-Southampton video? How can that be? Johnny Giles in action for Leeds in 1974. Photograph: Allsport Hulton/Archive Eventually, I realised I was comparing two different people. Johnny Giles was the footballer, the guy in the number 10 shirt who could do anything with the ball. John Giles was the chap on TV in the sensible V-neck, sitting there impassively as the mad fella on one side of him shook his fist at the world and the mischievous Corkman on the other side twinkled away in the presenter's chair. My generation missed out on Johnny Giles. We got John Giles instead. And it was easy to feel shortchanged about that. Instinctively, plenty of us wondered what all the fuss was about. But over time, probably because we got older and (marginally) less dumb, it became clear. Eamon Dunphy kept going on about what a genius John Giles was, what he didn't know about football wasn't worth knowing. Bill O'Herlihy kept deferring to him. Over time, you saw what they saw. Uniquely in that world, the Aprés Match lads never seemed to know what to do with him. There was no gimmick, no hook. He was who he was – straight, knowledgeable, unshowy. Paul McGrath told a lovely story years ago about being on RTÉ doing a game, back when they had the Premier League highlights on a Saturday night. He was nervous as hell, afraid of his life of freezing up on TV. They were doing an Everton game and McGrath was blanking and couldn't think of anything to say about Kevin Campbell. So Giles fed him a line about Campbell looking fit since coming back from a spell in Turkey. When they came back from an ad break, Billo asked McGrath what he made of the Everton striker and McGrath duly delivered his assessment, saying the time with Trabzonspor had served him well and he was looking a lot fitter now. When Billo turned to Giles for his take, he went, 'Well I'd have to agree with what Paul said.' John Giles makes his way down O'Connell Street as Grand Marshall of the 2012 St Patrick's Day Parade. Photograph: Brenda Fitzsimons That was John Giles. He finished up with Newstalk during the week, bringing an end to a media career that lasted twice as long as his actual playing career. Throughout it, you could tell what he stood for, always. You could tell what he thought was nonsense, always. If it didn't make sense to send your centre-half up as a spare striker in the first five minutes, it doesn't make sense to do it in the final five either. The good players take touches that give themselves time on the ball, the less good ones take touches that cut down their time on the ball. If a midfielder has found himself ahead of the ball in the opposition half, he hasn't understood what being a midfielder is. Core beliefs. Changeless as canal water. John Giles has retired at the age of 84. Dunphy's podcast has wound up, probably for good. Dear old Billo went to the presenter's chair in the sky a whole 10 years ago . The world keeps turning and new voices take over, as they should. But out on the green the other night, someone passed me the ball and I nearly threw my knee out trying a rabona. Some things last forever.
Scottish Sun
6 days ago
- Business
- Scottish Sun
Former Rangers supremo Sir David Murray admits his decision to sell to Craig Whyte ‘tarnished' his Ibrox legacy
He says his decision was taken "in good faith" BAD CALL Former Rangers supremo Sir David Murray admits his decision to sell to Craig Whyte 'tarnished' his Ibrox legacy Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) SIR DAVID MURRAY still looks back with immense pride on the heart- pumping highs of his Rangers tenure. He recalls the night they secured nine in a row at Tannadice. Sign up for the Rangers newsletter Sign up 5 David Murray with Paul Gascoigne and Walter Smith 5 Craig Whyte arrives at Ibrox and waves to the fans at the front door 5 David Murray book serialisation – collect pix from PR Book cover for Mettle Credit: Not known, clear with picture desk He remembers battling Marseille for a place in the first ever Champions League final back in 1993. And he thinks back to the thrill of sealing deals to sign Paul Gascoigne, Brian Laudrup and a world-class cast of superstar players. But the former Ibrox owner is also dogged by regrets over what came next. Rangers plunged into administration and liquidation after Murray's £1 sale to Craig Whyte in 2011. They fell to the fourth tier of Scottish football. When once it was Marseille and Ajax, now it was Montrose and Annan. Now, 37 years after he first bought Gers from Nevada-based Lawrence Marlborough in a shock £6million deal, Murray opens up on the pain of watching the catastrophic collapse at Ibrox. And in his new autobiography — 'Mettle: Tragedy, Courage and Titles' —he speaks of a legacy tarnished by one of the worst spells in the club's history. Murray said: 'Ask me if I regret the manner in which the club finally changed hands in 2011 or dealing with the man I ultimately sold it to and then sitting right inside the lion's cage for the subsequent circus: Of course I do. 'My decision was taken in good faith. 'I thought, 'I hope to God I have done the right thing. I've passed it on'. New Rangers chiefs Andrew Cavenagh and Paraag Marathe's first interview 'It has now been 14 years since I relinquished control of the club and there is no doubt that my legacy was tarnished. 'The first 15 or 16 years of my tenure were outstanding — but the final few years were tricky and took a lot out of me. 'When we were in that tight period, I ploughed a lot of money into the club. 'I worked out that our company had put just short of £80million into Rangers during my time at the club. 'Ultimately, when the crash came, I took the fall. 'No one else. I was captain of the ship.' Ironically, Murray had worked with and signed some of the greatest club captains of all time in the likes of Terry Butcher and Richard Gough. 5 Rangers chairman Sir David Murray at the training centre which was named in his honour He inherited close pal Graeme Souness as manager then appointed title winners in Walter Smith, twice, Dick Advocaat and Alex McLeish. Gers won nine straight titles and made a mark in Europe, even reaching the 2008 Uefa Cup final in Manchester during Smith's second spell at the Ibrox helm. But Murray now admits he was ready to walk away from the club by the time Whyte arrived at his door in 2011. He said: 'The question I still frequently get asked is, 'Do you regret selling Rangers?'. And the answer is always, 'No'. My time was up — 23 years was too long. We had enjoyed the greatest success in the club's entire history but it was clearly time for change.' As Whyte applauded skipper David Weir lifting the SPL championship trophy at Rugby Park just days after taking over from Murray, few could have predicted the calamitous collapse that followed. It left Gers teetering on the edge of the abyss — and remains a source of regret to the Ayr-born steel tycoon. 5 David Murray announces proposals for a new club deck on the main stand Murray added: 'It was undoubtedly a low point in the club's history and even now, more than a decade later, I still feel responsible. 'It's still difficult to believe that it got as far as it did but I will never try to hide. 'Thankfully for the fans, Rangers have survived. 'And across the past few years they have remained competitive, even reaching another European final.' He also lifts the lid on Gers' battles with their Old Firm rivals over his 23 years at Ibrox — and the shift in the balance of power in Glasgow. SIR DAVID MURRAY: A TIMELINE 1951 - Born in Ayr 1974 - Founds Murray International Metals aged 23 1976 - Loses both legs in a car crash 1984 - Awarded Young Scottish Businessman of the Year 1988 - Buys Rangers FC for £6million 1989 - Rangers win the first of a record-equalling nine successive league titles and buy first high profile Catholic, Maurice Johnston, for £1.5m from under the noses of Celtic. 1991: Walter Smith succeeds Graeme Souness as manager. 1992 - Wife Louise - mum of their two sons - dies after a cancer battle. 1993: Rangers sign Duncan Ferguson for a record transfer fee between British clubs of £4million. 1995: Paul Gascoigne signs for a club record £4.3m. 1998: Dick Advocaat is appointed manager and club break their transfer record three times that summer by signing Arthur Numan (£4.5m), Giovanni van Bronckhorst (£5m) and Andrei Kanchelskis (£5.5m). Murray declares that for 'every £5 Celtic spend, we will spend £10.' 2000: Rangers smash transfer record by signing Tore Andre Flo from Chelsea for £12m. 2001: Murray Park is opened at a cost of £14m. 2007 - Knighted for services to business 2009 - Sir David steps down as Rangers chairman and as a member of the board, with the club having won 15 titles and 21 cups during his tenure May 2011 - He sells his controlling interest in Rangers for £1 to Wavetower Limited, owned by businessman Craig Whyte. Gers fans, however, remain split over Murray's true legacy to the club. Many recall the on-field highs of the 1990s, the spending power of Advocaat and legend Smith's emotional return after the failed gamble on Paul Le Guen. But others still apportion blame for the financial slide and insist he should have done more to probe Whyte's background — and his ability to take Gers forward. Murray said: 'I hope, in hindsight, Rangers fans will understand that there were a number of key factors going on in business and my life that they were simply not aware of at the time. 'I was caught in the perfect storm of a bank collapsing, a shocking result in Europe against Kaunas that cost us millions, a club essentially in financial difficulty and a medical condition that I couldn't announce publicly but put my life sharply into focus.' Football's scoop of the century By Roger Hannah IT'S The Sun Wot Broke It. But Sir David Murray didn't mind that his historic swoop for Maurice Johnston was first revealed on the front page of this newspaper in 1989. He was just relieved he'd managed to help Graeme Souness pull off a transfer swoop which rocked Scottish football. Even now, 36 years on, landing the Scotland striker from Celtic's grasp — and making him the first high- profile Catholic to play for Gers — is regarded as the most audacious swoop of all time. And Murray recalls: 'All the talk was of Johnston joining Celtic. But Graeme came to me and said, 'Apparently he's not signed, the paperwork's not done, we can get him'. 'I asked for a day to think about it, phoned him and said, 'Yes, I think we should do it for numerous reasons — for football reasons and to remove an area where we can be criticised for not signing Catholic players. And why not make it the best one, who can come in and contribute?' 'Even though at that time Mark Hateley and Ally McCoist were the strikers and had an excellent partnership. 'Finally, just 24 hours before we were due to unveil the player, we took a call from a young journalist at The Sun in Scotland ahead of a story being published. 'On July 10, 1989, The Sun ran half of its front page with the simple headline MO JOINS GERS. 'It certainly didn't spoil the unveiling. If anything, it ramped up the tension!' Johnston, who had played with Celts before a spell at Nantes in France, was pictured with Hoops boss Billy McNeill in 1989 but hadn't signed his contract to return. Gers boss Souness, who had played with Johnston for Scotland, realised the move hadn't been concluded and kickstarted the monumental move. The Champions League qualifying defeat in Lithuania, just months after the Uefa Cup final loss to Zenit St Petersburg, was a bodyblow to Gers. The club was wrestling with debts and the spectre of a major HMRC probe also hung over Ibrox after the controversial use of EBTs. Liquidator BDO ultimately reached a £56m agreement with HMRC to close its tax case against Gers' use of employee benefit trusts. BDO revealed 'formal settlement documentation will ensure that HMRC will not raise any further claims in the liquidation'. The Supreme Court had ruled against the club in 2017 — fully five years after Whyte placed Gers in administration, leading to the company's liquidation and the appointment of BDO. BDO says it 'represents an agreed reduction to HMRC's initial submitted claim in the liquidation'. - Mettle: Tragedy, Courage & Titles by Sir David Murray, is on sale Thursday July 3 from Amazon and all good bookshops. Preorder on Amazon here. Sir David is donating his royalties to Erskine Hospital. Keep up to date with ALL the latest news and transfers at the Scottish Sun football page
The Guardian
25-06-2025
- Sport
- The Guardian
Which English second-tier football teams have played in Europe?
'Spurs finished 17th this season, yet claimed a place in the Champions League. They aren't the lowest-ranked Uefa qualifier, though, as I recall Millwall playing in Europe in the early 2000s. Which other English second-tier teams have played in Uefa European competitions?' asks Richard Amos. We looked at this back in the 2011-12 season as Birmingham entered the Europa League by virtue of winning that year's League Cup. They exited in the group stage, behind Club Brugge and Portugal's Braga (the latter beaten finalists the previous year), despite reaching the magical 10 points total. That followed in the tradition set by West Ham's 1980 FA Cup winners – Trevor Brooking's rare header and all - and their journey to the quarter-final of the 1980-81 Cup Winners' Cup. There they met a legendary Dinamo Tbilisi team, who went on to win the competition, the only Georgian club to win a European trophy (though they played in the old Soviet Union) and a team that had demolished Liverpool in the 1979-80 European Cup. West Ham lost 4-2 on aggregate, including a 4-1 home loss that has time-honoured Hammers gasping at the memory. On to the 21st century, where Ipswich qualified for the 2002-03 Uefa Cup despite being relegated from the Premiership (as it was known) in 2001-02. They qualified for Europe through Uefa's Fair Play League after all of the English teams above them in the Fair Play League qualified for other European competitions. George Burley had taken Ipswich into the Uefa Cup in the the previous season but he was sacked in October 2002 as the Championship promotion campaign went downhill quickly, to be replaced by Joe Royle. One of Royle's first assignments was a second-round meeting with Slovan Liberec, which they lost on penalties after a 1-1 draw. Millwall's sole portion of continental football came after they lost the 2004 FA Cup final to Manchester United, who had qualified for the Champions League. Dennis Wise's Lions only got as far as a 4-2 first-round knockout loss to Ferencvaros. The 2013 winners of the FA Cup, Wigan Athletic, were unable to prevent relegation, and so, Roberto Martínez having departed to Everton, Owen Coyle and, soon enough, Uwe Rösler presided over a Europa League stage in which the Latics finished bottom behind Belgium's Zulte Waregem, Maribor and the Russian team Rubin Kazan. To delve yet further into the murky depths of Knowledge favourite the Intertoto Cup, Crystal Palace, relegated after a campaign that included the co-management of Tomas Brolin and Attilio Lombardo, found themselves playing Samsunspor of Turkey over two legs and losing 2-0 both home and away, during Terry Venables' ill-starred return to Selhurst Park in 1998. 'Newcastle's third kit features a different club badge from the home and away kits, which means when they wear it the goalkeeper has a different badge on their shirt. Are there any other instances of this?' asks Andy Foreman-Lonn. Liverpool are coming to the end of their kit sponsorship with Nike, a deal which runs until 31 July 2025. In something of a marketing faux pas, the club will have to play their first pre-season games in last season's Nike kit, but it also means their new signings have had to be unveiled in Nike gear. Nobody knows for sure the new Adidas designs for next year – they can't be released until 1 August – but unconfirmed leaked images suggest that three different badges will adorn the three new Adidas kits: a simple white Liver bird on the red home kit under LFC (similar to the Nike kit), a white bird encased in a red shielded crest on the away kit and a white bird on a more elaborate crest on the sea green third kit, a nod to both the third kits and crests in the 1990s. The new goalkeeper kits only carry the badges that are found on the new home shirts (if the leaks are to be believed), which means that when Liverpool play in their away or third kit next season, Alisson Becker will be wearing a different badge to Virgil van Dijk and co. 'My club [West Ham] had a kit in 2016-17 to celebrate the club's original origins as 'Thames Ironworks FC',' emails Jack Hart. 'The badge, rather than being our traditional crossed hammers, was a Union flag with TIWFC embossed. The goalkeeper kit used with it had the new badge that we adopted that year for our move to Stratford. Additionally, I know we barely used the kit; I believe the intention was to use it during our cup games, but I think the FA had/has a rule regarding no kits having flags on them.' 'No doubt this won't be the earliest example you get supplied with but Barnsley's third kit from the 23-24 season featured a different badge to both the home and away kit and all the keeper shirts,' replies John Pearson. 'They continued the trend with the 24-25 third kit which featured a different version of the badge used on the 23-24 kit.' 'It's exceedingly rare for European clubs to play competitive football in mid-June, as they are now at the Club World Cup,' notes George Jones. 'I would imagine up until the Covid-affected 2019-20 season (which went into July), there were dates on the calendar on which European club football had never been played. Can anyone come up with one?' 'Even if you only look at the 'top five' nations and the Champions League, until the early 2000s, national cup finals in Spain, Italy, Germany, and France were very often held in mid-to-late June, except for years where the national team was playing in the World Cup or European Championship that summer,' writes Ben. 'And until 2024, the first knockout round of the Champions League qualifying, for teams from the four lowest-ranked leagues, was held at the very end of June. So no, it's not rare at all! 'In regards to the question, there is no date like that – every day of June as well as the start of July has featured matches in one of those four national cups, and every other day of July has featured matches in the Uefa qualifying rounds.' 'Re: your question regarding a larger goal-difference disparity between two teams next to each other in the final standings (last week's Knowledge), your list excluded Heart of Midlothian in 1957-58,' George Forsyth correctly points out. 'Hearts were runaway champions, with 62 points, out of a possible total 68, scored 132 goals and let in 29, for a goal difference of 103. Second-placed Rangers, had a goal difference of a mere +40, resulting in a chasm of 63 goals.' 'At the end of 1997-98 season, Doncaster Rovers were relegated from the Football League after just four wins from their 46 games,' replies Mike Slattery. 'Their goal difference of -83 was 55 worse than that of Brighton immediately above them, on -28. The largest gap was set 99 years earlier, in the days before goal difference was even a thing. During the 1898-99 season, which would be their final one in the Football League, Darwen conceded 141 goals in 34 games, with a goal difference of -119. Both of these remain league records to this day. That goal difference was a full 65 worse than that of Loughborough, one place above them, who ended on -54.' Who was the first English player to play professionally abroad? This was a question asked by an unnamed reader back in March 2003. The man you're looking for, according to the brilliant statistical site is Herbert Kilpin, who played for FC Torinese in 1891, then for Mediolanum Milano from 1898 to 1900 and Milan from 1900-07. But Kilpin's defining moment came in a Tuscan wine shop in 1899 when together with two friends he founded the Milan Cricket and Football Club, now known as the one and only [AC] Milan. Paddy French asks: 'Has a team won the Champions League without beating any reigning champions? And if not, which teams have beaten the fewest champions to win it? And which teams have beaten the most champions in winning the Champions League/European Cup?' 'After seeing that Jobe Bellingham had scored for Borussia Dortmund in their Club World Cup game against Mamelodi Sundowns, it occurred to me that his first competitive goal for his new club has come an awful long time before the start of his first domestic campaign with the team,' emails Alexander Craig. 'Has there been a longer gap before?' 'Japan's record defeat was a 15-2 home loss to the Philippines in 1917 and its record win was a 15-0 home victory against the Philippines in 1967,' writes Des H-B. 'Are there any other national teams whose biggest win and most crushing loss come against the same opposition? And have any taken place closer together than the 50 years that span 1917-1967?' 'This past season Finnish striker Joel 'Danger' Pohjanpalo was the top goalscorer for the two teams he represented: Venezia in Serie A and Palermo in Serie B,' notes Ville Leino. 'Has this feat been accomplished by any other players?' Mail us with your questions and answers
Scottish Sun
24-06-2025
- Sport
- Scottish Sun
Shaun Maloney set to make sensational Celtic return as ex-Hoops star lands major Parkhead role
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) SHAUN MALONEY is poised to return to Celtic in a senior backroom role. SunSport understands the former Hoops star is in line to succeed Darren O'Dea as the club's professional player pathway manager. 3 Wigan agree fee for Celtic forward Shaun Maloney Credit: PA:Empics Sport 3 Shaun Maloney Credit: Kenny Ramsay 3 Wigan boss Shaun Maloney Credit: Getty Maloney, 42, has been out of work since being sacked by Wigan Athletic in March. He was heavily linked with the Dundee job this summer but is now set to make an emotional return to Celtic. Maloney came through the Hoops youth ranks and made his debut under Martin O'Neill in 2001. He won eight major honours during a decade in the Celtic first-team - interrupted by a 18-month stint at Aston Villa - and played in the 2003 Uefa Cup final. Capped 47 times by Scotland, he also played for Wigan, Chicago Fire and Hull City during a long career at the top. Maloney started his coaching career with Celtic under-20s during Brendan Rodgers' first stint at the club - with the Parkhead boss hailing his 'fantastic' work. He then left to take up a role with Roberto Martinez's Belgium coaching team. Maloney had a brief stint as Hibs boss in season 2021/22 and was then appointed as Wigan gaffer in January 2023. His Latics reign ended three months ago but he is now set to return to Celtic in the professional player pathway manager role. This will see Maloney be tasked with the job of guiding the Hoops' brightest prospects, which includes responsibility for managing loans. Watch ex-Celtic and Scotland star Shaun Maloney's awkward Scottish Cup draw gaffe as fans say 'bring back Rod Stewart' O'Dea recently left his position to become Swansea City No2 but Rodgers could fill the role quickly. Speaking last year, Maloney revealed the Celtic gaffer had been a huge influence since giving him his coaching break in 2017. He said: "Brendan's a brilliant manager – tactically very good, particularly whenever I went to him with a query. "We've stayed in touch, and he was brilliant to speak with before I took the manager's job at Hibernian – as he was during my time there and after I left." Keep up to date with ALL the latest news and transfers at the Scottish Sun football page
Scottish Sun
22-06-2025
- Sport
- Scottish Sun
I played when Rangers met Panathinaikos in Athens – Russell Martin needs mentality monsters, not guys who can't hack it
The ex-Gers star opened up on the hostile atmosphere that will be waiting in the Olympic Stadium ATHEN A LAUGH I played when Rangers met Panathinaikos in Athens – Russell Martin needs mentality monsters, not guys who can't hack it STEVEN NAISMITH did his best to dodge the glass bottles and coins being hurled his way as he went out to warm up. It was 2008 and Rangers were in Athens for the second leg of their last-32 Uefa Cup clash with Panathinaikos. Advertisement 4 Steven Naismith played when Rangers last faced Panathinaikos in 2008 Credit: Reuters 4 Gers made it out of Athens with a draw that night thanks to Nacho Novo's goal Credit: PA:Press Association 4 Naismith says Russell Martin will need big personalities for tough atmospheres like that Credit: PA The 16,000-capacity Stadio Apostolos Nikolaidis was packed to the rafters and the atmosphere was as hostile as Naismith can remember. Yet, in the end, second-half sub Naismith helped Walter Smith's side defy the animosity to emerge with a 1-1 draw that saw them continue a path which would end with defeat in the final. Advertisement Rangers now face the same opposition again in Russell Martin's first game in charge, with their Champions League qualifier just four weeks away. That match takes place at the Olympic Stadium, where up to 70,000 home supporters could be hurling abuse at the Ibrox side. It's why Naismith insists Martin must sign players with the right mentality as much as the best ability as he overhauls the squad. Naismith, 38, said: 'That game against Panathinaikos was one of the most hostile places ever. It was on the run to the Uefa Cup final. 'I remember Gate 13 where the tunnel is. That's where the ultras are. Advertisement 'Naively I was laughing and joking coming out for the warm-up. 'Next minute there were glass bottles, coins, all sorts, getting launched at us. 'Every time you went near the tunnel you had to sprint in and sprint out. Ally McCoist confesses to 'horrendous' epic fail ahead of final day of Rangers legend's charity bike ride 'The night turned out to be really good for us with Nacho Novo scoring to make it 1-1. It was a brilliant environment to play in but very hostile. 'The thing is you can talk about an atmosphere but until you're in it and experience it, it's just words. When you do experience it, it's a case of what way are you going? Advertisement 'Are you intimidated or do you think it's good? That's the real root of whether you're going to be a success at Rangers or Celtic. 'It's about mentality. Do you go into that environment and think, 'I'm up for that, I like a bit of this', or do you say, 'Don't give me the ball because I'm scared'? 'If it's the latter, you won't be a success. That can be players with great ability too. For the last 30 years Rangers and Celtic have signed players who are brilliant in other leagues but can't hack it here. 'It's down to mentality. That's been a problem for Rangers. To say players have hidden is unfair. They just can't hack it. 'Philippe Clement made a point of buying younger players to develop them but younger players rarely have that ability straight away. That's where they become safe when they're 1-0 down at home with ten minutes to go. They don't want to make a brave pass or shoot from a tight angle.' Advertisement It is four years since Rangers last won the title but in that time they have reached the Europa League final in 2022 and the quarter-finals last season. While the clash with Greek giants Panathinaikos has so much riding on it, Naismith insists it's domestically, in the Premiership, where Martin will be measured most. He said: 'It has to be the first aim. It's not as clear cut as saying it's one over the other because Rangers can have both. 4 'But what won't be accepted is what's happened in previous years where the team has done well in Europe but is ten or 15 points behind in the league. That just won't wash. Advertisement 'That's what has to change. Rangers have to beat the other teams in the league. 'If you look at the points they dropped against teams from the mid to low end of the table it was unacceptable. 'That's how the gap goes from being four points — where there is still pressure on the team at the top — to that big a gap where it becomes easy and the team at the top can cruise. 'When you look at the teams they could have got in Europe, Panathinaikos is definitely the toughest opposition. 'On top of that you've had a takeover, a new manager and a squad rebuild that needs to happen. Advertisement 'As important as Champions League and European success is, if they missed out on this one but made the next ten then that's proper success. 'You have to understand where Rangers are. 'Russell coming in will make it an enjoyable place to play but there will be expectations in terms of what he wants. 'The style will change and there will be mistakes within that but over time I've got no doubt he'll be a success. Aberdeen brutally troll EVERY Premiership rival with video including Celtic captain crying & Rangers TV's 'corrupt' clip 'It definitely makes things easier as a player when the manager has a clear, definite way of playing. Advertisement 'Players want simplicity in terms of their role. The style can be complex but as long as the players can understand it then it makes it easier. 'The players who will find it most challenging are defenders because he'll ask them to do things and be in positions that can be uncomfortable. 'There will be a higher risk because if you're not in the right position it can be really costly. But every other player will be rubbing their hands because it's so enjoyable. 'It's the way you wanted to play football growing up. 'He's worked on it for five years and has been successful — at every club he's made them a better team and also improved players. Advertisement 'The proof is the sale of players he has worked with. They've moved on for a profit compared to when he brought them in.' Steven Naismith was talking courtesy of William Hill and the Warm-Up, SPFL Title Sponsor. Keep up to date with ALL the latest news and transfers at the Scottish Sun football page
