Russell Martin can't be a Rangers write off already as Angus Gunn shoots down damaged goods theory

Daily Record

2 days ago

Gunn played with Martin during the former Southampton boss' last few months as a Norwich player and played against his Saints side
Scotland keeper Angus Gunn insists Rangers supporters are wrong to write off Russell Martin as permanently damaged goods just because he crashed and burned in the Premier League with Southampton.
Martin was in his last few months as Norwich captain when Gunn first broke into the starting XI at Carrow Road in 2017 - shortly before the defender left the club on an ill-fated loan spell to Ibrox.
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Now Martin seems poised to return to Glasgow as head coach as the search for Philippe Clement's successor nears completion.
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And Gunn is adamant that Martin's managerial reputation has not been damaged irreparably by last season's top flight shocker on the south coast, where he was bulleted as boss after winning one of his first 16 games and with Saints rock bottom in the league table and heading straight back to the second tier.
Asked is anxious Rangers fans - who have responded angrily to the prospect - should look beyond Martin's nightmarish previous campaign Gunn said: 'Yes, I think so.
'I think, obviously, it's hard to compare a promoted team going into the Premier League with a team like Rangers going into European games.
'I think, as a manager, he showed what he can do, not only with Southampton but with Swansea as well.
'He took a team that wasn't expected to do much quite far into the Championship as well.
'I think it will be a positive thing for Rangers. But, obviously, I think the only thing that can bring those supporters round is probably him getting in the door and starting well. That's the only thing that can happen.'
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And Gunn - who came up against Southampton as Martin led them on a promotion push out of the Championship - insists the former Scotland international is far from the tactical one trick pony his critics accuse him of being.
He went on: "They were a tough team. I think we had a couple of good games against them. One was 4-3, one was 0-0, so quite contrasting.
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'We watched the evolution of their team throughout the season. I think when we first played them, they were quite open.
'Then, when we played them again, they were a little bit pragmatic. I think that shows a coach that can adapt and change the way his team plays.
'Watching his teams over the few years that he was there, I thought he did that. Even though some people probably said that he was reluctant to change a lot.
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'I thought he did that quite well, especially in the Championship anyway. That was the main thing, really.'
And Gunn knows from personal experience how difficult it is to make it up into the premised land of England's Premier League.
He nodded: "Yes, 100 per cent, I think. Obviously we had the pressure of them coming down as well.
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'A lot of the teams find it quite hard but I think, as a manager, not just him, but his staff as well - there was a lot of pressure on him and the team and he managed to deliver.'
Gunn was cutting his first team teeth at Norwich on loan from Manchester City when he played under Martin as skipper.
And he insists he could see, even at that stage, that Martin was destined for a new career in the dugout.
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He said: 'Obviously, I only worked with him as a player at Norwich. He's a very intellectual guy.
'I went in there as a young goalkeeper and he helped me massively, even though he wasn't in the team every week and playing regularly.
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'He was the captain of the club and he had good relationships with everyone in the dressing room.
'Obviously, watching what he's done at Southampton, I thought he'd done incredibly well there and probably was unfortunate to lose his job there because it's always difficult for teams coming up from the Championship to even compete with some of the Premier League teams.
'I watch him now on the TV and the way he wants to play and his philosophy. I really hope whatever he goes onto in his career is successful. I don't know if he's going to go to Rangers or not, but obviously he had a spell there as well, so he kind of knows the club a little bit.
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'I think it would be a really good thing for the Rangers, to be fair.
'Yes, you could tell he had the qualities to become a coach back then and there were a few other players in that dressing room who were the same - like Steven Naismith who was there as well.
'You can tell on the pitch when you're playing with these players. They kind of start coaching whilst they're still playing, if you like, sort of organising on the pitch.
'He was one of them, but Russell wasn't just on the pitch, he was off the pitch as well, where he had close relationships with everyone.
'Even though, like I said, he wasn't a regular playing in the team, he was always on hand and always upbeat and a good person to go to.'