Let's put the cards on the table. Rangers under Russell Martin are nowhere near ready to be a Champions League side. This latest Ibrox squad are a million miles away from being equipped for the group stages of Europe’s biggest competition. But before the Bears start rattling their cages, hear me out. It would be easy to have a go at the manager, Kevin Thelwell or even the club’s new American owners for not getting things done quicker. If you were being mega-harsh, you could argue that - knowing for months the schedule of these Champions League qualifiers - there is no excuse for not being tooled up properly. But the bottom line is, circumstances over the summer dictated that. The timeline of Andrew Cavenagh and 49ers Enterprises’ takeover at Ibrox - as well as their search for a new gaffer - meant it was always going to be near-impossible to be ready. And despite Gers’ 2-0 first-leg victory over Panathinaikos in Glasgow last week , that’s still the case. Put it this way, if you’d told Ibrox punters they’d kick off their Euro campaign with a forward line of Kieran Dowell, Danilo and Findlay Curtis, they wouldn’t just have laughed in your face. They’d have been calling The Samaritans. Which is why, with Martin’s squad heading to Athens for Wednesday night’s return, he actually deserves huge credit for pulling off a result. Let’s be honest - and the manager touched on it afterwards - Rangers were woeful in the first half against the Greeks and lucky not to be two down. If Panathinaikos had anything about them, they’d have killed the tie off early and left Martin and Co licking their wounds. But a bit of resilience, as well as two moments of magic from young Curtis and Djeidi Gassama, allowed them to put one foot in the next round. If they can avoid getting burnt in the Athens heat to progress - then potentially beat Swiss outfit Servette who are ahead in their tie - it would be a minor miracle from Martin. Because despite making several summer signings, he’ll know there’s still a mountain of work to do at Ibrox. His second string isn’t good enough. That was proven at the weekend when a load of fringe players failed to take their opportunity in a friendly against Middlesbrough. Martin questioned the attitude of some of the players. But given what we’ve witnessed from this group over the last few years, he really shouldn’t have been too surprised. He’s still in the early stages of the weeding out process at Ibrox, irrespective of what he might say publicly. And in terms of more players coming in, expect at least a few more before the transfer window closes. It’s no secret that Martin wants another two wingers. By my reckoning, he’ll still want a centre-back, left-back, sitting midfielder and a striker as well. All of which goes back to just how ready - or not - they are to challenge for a place in the Champions League. A section of the support will believe this second leg in Greece is Gers’ biggest game of the season, due to the lucrative prize money on offer. But it’s not. In fact, I’d argue their Premiership opener against Motherwell at Fir Park on Saturday night is far bigger. Of course, reaching the group phase of the Champions League and pocketing more than £40million would be an unexpected God-send for Cavenagh and the Americans. But the best route for Rangers into that competition is to be champions of Scotland - and establish themselves again as the country’s top side. When the owners arrived, they said their number one priority was to become Scotland’s top club again and that means winning the title. For too long now, since Steven Gerrard turned up as gaffer, it feels like Europe has become the be-all and end-all for a generation of supporters who have been starved of domestic success. Obviously, they’ve been given some glory nights in the Europa League which culminated in reaching the 2022 final in Seville. Some punters wouldn’t swap that for the world, so I get it. But too many fans - and players for that matter - have got used to being second best in Scotland. And until that attitude changes, they’ll continue to trail Celtic in the league. That’s Martin’s biggest challenge, above everything else. It should be all that matters this term. He’s not daft. He’ll know that winning the Premiership this season has to be the main goal. And that means getting off to a flyer at Fir Park on Saturday. The last two Rangers managers - Michael Beale and Philippe Clement - took their eye off the ball early in their league campaigns. Beale lost to Kilmarnock at Rugby Park, while Clement could only muster a draw with Hearts at Tynecastle. They were preoccupied with other things like European qualifiers and, in the Belgian’s case, having to play home games at Hampden. They were behind the eight ball from the off, couldn’t recover to catch Celtic, and paid the ultimate price. Martin can’t afford to do the same. So as much as this Panathinaikos test is a big game, like he said himself, it shouldn’t define the season. Defeat to Motherwell might. With a 2-0 advantage in Athens, it should be enough to take Rangers through to a possible meeting with the beatable Servette. Whatever happens after that? Martin and the Rangers fans should treat it as a bonus, given where he’s at in this latest Ibrox rebuild. See off the Greeks and they’ll be guaranteed group stage football of some sort in Europe until Christmas. And at this point in his tenure, that would be a case of job done. Then he can concentrate on what really matters. To hit the ground running in the league, beat Celtic at Ibrox on August 31 - and give themselves a chance of delivering what Cavenagh and the Americans really want. To be champions next May.