Russell Martin has finally stopped the rot at Rangers – players ran the dressing room for too long, says Kris Boyd

Scottish Sun

6 hours ago

Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window)
Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
FOR too long now Rangers players have been running the football club.
Managers have come and gone without being strong enough to change it.
4
Russell Martin made several bold selection calls against Viktoria Plzen
Credit: Reuters
4
Nicolas Raskin was perhaps the most surprise omission against the Czechs
Credit: SNS
4
Captain James Tavernier on the bench with Danilo and Nedim Bajrami vs Plzen
Credit: Willie Vass
Not now.
Russell Martin proved this week that he's going to succeed or fail on his terms and no one else's.
He showed he's got the courage and bravery to drop big personalities if he believes that's going to benefit the team.
And it's now going to be fascinating to see how this plays out for James Tavernier and Nicolas Raskin.
For me, it could be the beginning of the end for them at Ibrox.
Martin talked about self-preservation and ego after last weekend's 1-1 draw with Motherwell at Fir Park.
You don't need to be the Brain of Britain to work out who he was referring to when he then left the pair of them out of his team for the European game against Viktoria Plzen on Tuesday night.
Danilo was dropped too, so let's not forget about him.
Although I'd discount Kieran Dowell, who just looks like a boy who turns up for his work every day and gets on with it.
But it was the decision to go without Tavernier and Raskin that was a huge call by Martin.
When Ross McCausland knew it was time to leave Rangers and why he's been blown away by his REPLACEMENTS
This was him making it clear to everyone that he's not going to shirk any major decision, and I applaud him for that.
It couldn't have been easy. We're talking about the club captain and a Belgian international who the supporters adore.
Martin will have known what kind of reaction there could have been had the game gone badly for his team.
It didn't, though, and it's been a risk worth taking because, believe me, the Rangers boss has now got everyone's attention in that dressing room.
As I say, I feel there have been players in there in the last few years who have had too much of an influence.
For the captain, it was history repeating itself after Philippe Clement did the same thing last season.
Remember, the Belgian gaffer went with Neraysho Kasanwirjo and also Dujon Sterling at right-back for a while with Tavernier benched.
He soon got back in and it could be that the same thing happens again. Let's see.
But Martin has signed Max Aarons, who plays in that position, so Tavernier must be wondering if this is the way it's going to be.
Listen, don't get me wrong, I think he's been a very, very good Rangers player down the years.
His number of goals and assists has been phenomenal as well as the amount of appearances he's made.
His problem is that he's been the club captain at a time when Celtic have dominated Scottish football.
He's been tarnished by the fact he's lifted just three trophies.
As for Raskin, his situation is clearly different in that he's 24 and fast approaching his peak as a midfielder.
He's managed to force his way into the Belgian team, not just the squad.
So you can just imagine how he felt when the manager pulled him after the Motherwell game and said he was being axed.
I know Martin says players don't get dropped these days and to a certain extent that's true.
But the feeling is still the same for players. Raskin's pride will be hurt at what's been said and done in the last week and it'll definitely be bothering him.
By the way, that's the way it should be. Any player who is happy to be sitting on the bench at a club like Rangers simply shouldn't be there.
What I will say is that both players showed a good reaction when they went on as substitutes against Plzen.
I'm no body language expert, but it didn't appear to me that they were sulking. And I think you can usually tell.
Raskin's problem is similar to Tavernier's in that a player has been brought in to play his position.
Joe Rothwell has literally been given the No 6 jersey. That's clearly the job Martin wants him to play.
Therefore if Raskin isn't willing to roll his sleeves up and accept that he's going to need to play a little further forward then I fear there's only going to be one outcome.
Right now, it's hard to put a value on him. While he was good towards the end of last season, he also found himself out of the team for a spell when Clement was in charge.
The Rangers supporters rave about him but I'm not actually sure what kind of fee the club could demand if that's the way this ends up going.
Maybe Raskin will buckle down and accept that he's not going to get the No 6 playmaker role that he wants.
But I also wonder if he could be sold to the highest bidder to allow Martin to strengthen other areas of the team.
Cyriel Dessers played brilliantly against Plzen — albeit they were bang-average — but he's been linked with AEK Athens.
The bottom line is that I cannot see Raskin, Rothwell and Mohamed Diomande playing in the same team because they're too similar. So something will have to give.
It's definitely one to watch in the coming weeks because there are various ways this could play it.
But one thing is absolutely certain — and that is Rangers have a manager who isn't afraid to make bold decisions.
And it's long overdue.
4
Keep up to date with ALL the latest news and transfers at the Scottish Sun football page