Mohamed Diomande opens up on his Rangers future amid transfer talk as he admits ‘Ibrox is not an easy place’

MOHAMED DIOMANDE has dismissed talk of a move away from Rangers this summer.

The midfielder has been linked with Turkish side Besiktas as well as Everton and West Ham.

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But as he set his sights on helping Rangers reach the third qualifying round of the Champions League Diomande insisted: “I’m happy at Ibrox.

“I don’t see much speculation or what is written.

“I’m a Rangers player so I’m really focused to give my best for this season.

“For me, it’s a dream to play in these European games.

“Growing up, I always wanted to play in big competitions in Champions League and Europa League and now I have a chance to show myself.

“Also, there are people watching me back home and I’m just happy to play in this competition.

“I hope we can get the result we want and be in the next round.

“I’ve learned to be tough mentally. I know Ibrox is not an easy place.

“I’ve been here one year now and I think it’s helped me to be tough mentally.

“Like I said, I’m just happy I’ll be able to play a lot of football now and we’ll be dominating a lot in the league.”

over 40,000 fanatical fans are set to turn up the heat in the stands.

Temperatures pushing 40 degrees at kick-off will ensure there’s no respite on the pitch.

But Rangers boss Russell Martin has vowed his players WILL keep their cool in the blazing Athens furnace.

The Gers gaffer said: “We had an extremely hot week in St George’s, where the guys had to work really, really hard and cover a lot of distance.

“That will help prepare us, but it’s the same for both teams.

“We have to manage the game in the best way possible, in our way, for us.

“And I think the players are ready for that.”

A place in the third qualifying round of the Champions League is up for grabs in the Olympic Stadium.

Panathinaikos – who had defender Giorgos Vaglannidis sent off in last week’s first leg – are bidding to overturn a 2-0 deficit.

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Boss Rui Vitoria is banking on the backing of a hostile home support to help the Greeks.

But Martin insisted: “They need to display courage, discipline, aggression in the right areas, intensity, all of it.

“And nothing will change.

“We can talk about the approach for this game, but it’s not going to change.

“We have to be the team we want to always be.

“I think this football club demands that and we’ll certainly demand that as a staff.

“Late on in the game and stuff like that, you have to manage it as well as you possibly can, depending on the situation.

“But the approach going into it has certainly not been any different.

“We have a lot of international players.

“I think we have to manage the game and take the crowd out of it as much as we possibly can by doing it in our way and trying to dominate in as many aspects as we can.

“I think I’m looking forward to the atmosphere.

“It’ll be a really good experience for the guys, but we have a lot of guys that have played in big games, big occasions and for this football club.

“I’m really confident the guys can handle that.”

Martin expects Panathinaikos to come flying out the traps in the Olympic Stadium.

The Greeks need at least three goals on the night and they’re praying the stifling conditions will play a part.

Yet Martin believes his team are prepared for what lies ahead.

He stressed: “They did that last week as well.

“They didn’t come to Ibrox trying to defend and get us on the counter-attack.

“They stuck to their game plan with the games that we watched previously.

“They weren’t defensive in their mentality or approach or tactically at all.

“We have to bring our own game plan and try to instil that as much as we possibly can.

“The opportunities need to be ones that we create.

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“I don’t expect to be given any opportunities and I don’t expect us to give them any.

“Both teams are going to have to work hard to try to create that, however that looks.

“Maybe it’s on a regain, maybe a counter-attack, maybe set-piece.

“Maybe it’s by being patient and waiting with the ball.

“So, we’ll just have to wait and see. But the guys are, I think, really ready.

“We took a lot, so much learning from last Tuesday night.

“And I think we have to make sure we take that into tomorrow.

“For me it’s the same situation we found ourselves in before the first game.

“It’s a tough game against a good opponent that we have to be really ready for, and I think we’ll be better than we were last week.

“We have to be, and it’s down to these guys when they step out over the white line to make sure we stick to the work and the detail and really believe in what we’re doing.”

Martin hinted that he could start Djeidi Gassama – the man who came off the bench to score at Ibrox last week.

The Gers boss admitted: “He’s ready to start.

“He had a big impact for us when he came on.

“You saw plenty of the reasons why we wanted to sign him.

“It’s early, early days, but Gass is a player that really excites us and I think can make a big difference for us.

“And hopefully, he does the same again tomorrow night.”

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