Bobby Russell hopes Panathinaikos write off Rangers following their goalless draw at Ibrox just as PSV Eindhoven did 30 years ago.

Rangers caught the Dutch side unaware and the midfielder scored the winner as Rangers recovered from losing an early goal to triumph 3-2 in a European Cup tie in Holland in 1978.

Nacho Novo squandered the few chances Rangers created in the first leg of the UEFA Cup last-32 clash last week, but Russell believes Walter Smith's men will thrive on playing away from home on Thursday knowing a score draw will put them through.

Russell said: "I think we were under-estimated, PSV presumed they had done the hard work and maybe we just played well on the night and they were a bit off.

"To be fair, nobody gave us any chance and after 30 seconds it looked that way as well.

"We played out of our skins that night and scored some wonderful goals. That caught them on the hop.

"So hopefully Rangers can do the same in Athens this time.

"In previous games they've shown they're at their best hitting on the break.

"I can see them scoring over there. At this moment in time they've got a good defensive record."

That counter-attacking style was not how Rangers played under Jock Wallace in 1978 though.

"It was a long, long time ago," Russell said. "I don't think we went there to sit back and soak up the pressure, we just went there to play our normal game.

"At that time we couldn't play any other way. We liked to go forward.

"We passed the ball well that night - I remember thinking it wasn't normal that we passed the ball like that.

"But they allowed us to pass it and I think they underestimated us."

Russell promoted a healthy living scheme for City Building apprentices on Monday as part of his role as a coach for Rangers' youth academy.

The former Motherwell midfielder is delighted at the number of young players who have forced their way into the Ibrox first team in recent years.

"It's not just because Walter is there, it's because the calibre of kid coming through is much better," he said.

"When you think of McGregor, Adam, Burke, you had Hutton who went away for £9million, which is great for the coaching staff who worked with him to see that amount of money coming into the club.

"There are two or three other kids coming through the conveyor belt of high quality. They are getting a chance on merit and Walter Smith knows that."

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