BY DUNCAN WRIGHT

“If he wins the league, I’ll turn vegan” Just one of the hundreds of WhatsApp messages I received following the official announcement that Russell Martin will become the new manager of Rangers. Although said with tongue firmly in cheek, the message is clear, turn this team into Champions and you will be adored by the supporters.

Most Read on FollowFollow.com No change of Heart – Rangers 0 – 2 Hearts The Follow Follow Friday Preview – 22 August 2025 Dessers Departs – A look back at Cyriel

Russell Martin is not who many supporters expected, or hoped, would become the 20th permanent manager of this famous club. Davide Ancelotti, Steven Gerrard and Brian Priske were all heavily linked with the job with Ancelotti and Gerrard both bookmaker favourites at various points over the last month. It was apparent throughout the whole process that only a very small number of people knew what was going on. Rangers supporters might need to get used to this. Leaks and journalists getting a little nudge are things of the past. As are club officials taking on board the views expressed online by supporters.

We will never really know what happened in the recruitment process.  Rangers perhaps wanted Ancelotti, maybe he didn’t really fancy Ibrox and Scottish football. Was he using Rangers’ interest to flush out other interested parties across Europe? Gerrard would have come with a track record of success, famously taking the club to their 55th title win but was he perhaps concerned about going back to a club where although adored, his success was on the whole disappointing. It shouldn’t be underestimated how important it is to have someone leading the team that wants to be here. This won’t be a project for Martin but rather an opportunity to re-establish himself as a successful coach.

Much has been said about how Martin’s teams have played previously – building from the back with lots of possession. At the press conference this was contradicted somewhat by Kevin Thelwell who commented, “His teams play dominant football, they control the ball, dictate the tempo and impose themselves physically. They press aggressively and work relentlessly off the ball.”  Only time will tell if this is indeed the approach we will see from Martin’s Rangers team.

And time is something that the Rangers support need to grant Martin. Despite not being the supporters first choice, something he himself acknowledged in his press conference, he is the choice of the new owners. The new owners are a team of professionals who we must put our trust in. Some will argue that trust needs to be earned but equally we cannot, and should not, right off the new Rangers manager before he has even taken his first training session.

It was clear from his first press conference that he wants what we all want – to win. We must give him the opportunity to prove he knows how to win, not just games but trophies. This club is built on success, and he must play his part in ensuring that success is celebrated once again. My twelve-year-old son used an interesting analogy as we discussed the appointment this morning. “He used to be Southampton vs Man City but now he’s Man City’. He’s not comparing Rangers to Manchester City but making the point that the gulf between Southampton and Manchester City is perhaps not too dissimilar to the gulf between Rangers and 10 of the other teams in the SPFL.

Will this give Martin the opportunity to impose his style of play and football philosophy? Perhaps. Will he encounter other difficulties such as the infamous low block? Definitely. What we don’t know is how he will deal with these problems and what he will ask his teams to do to overcome them. Judgement can only be made once his team has taken the pitch.