Rams just keep fighting
Derby County head coach John Eustace spoke to BBC Radio Derby after his side snatched a crucial 1-0 victory against relegation rivals Hull City."I'm just very proud of the efforts, the boys were outstanding again today. It was a fantastic result," Eustace said."Since I've been here this group of players has been written off time after time, but we just keep going and keep fighting."The Championship is relentless, you can't get carried away with the highs and the lows. It's an emotional time for everyone and you just have to keep cool and I thought the way the lads performed today was excellent."
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Rhyl Journal
an hour ago
- Rhyl Journal
Russell Martin looks set to win race to become new Rangers head coach
The former Rangers and Scotland defender was reported to be finalising personal terms after accepting the position, which became vacant in February when Philippe Clement was sacked. The apparently imminent appointment is the latest in a series of major developments at Ibrox. An American consortium led by Andrew Cavenagh and 49ers Enterprises secured a majority shareholding on Friday and new sporting director Kevin Thelwell officially began work on Monday. Thelwell stated on his first day that the recruitment of a new head coach would come to a conclusion 'in the coming days'. Outgoing Real Madrid assistant manager Davide Ancelotti and former Rangers boss Steven Gerrard – who reportedly pulled out of the running – were also among the leading candidates. Martin has been without a club since being sacked by Southampton in December after a 5-0 home defeat to Tottenham left Saints bottom of the Premier League on five points after 16 matches. The 39-year-old had secured promotion in his first season in charge thanks to a Championship play-off final win against Leeds. The ex-Peterborough and Norwich captain began his managerial career in November 2019 when he stepped up from MK Dons' playing squad to take charge of his team. We can confirm that we have taken the difficult decision to part ways with our Men's First Team Manager, Russell Martin. — Southampton FC (@SouthamptonFC) December 15, 2024 Martin steered the Dons clear of relegation danger before the pandemic struck and his side finished 13th in Sky Bet League One in what proved to be his only full campaign in charge. Martin moved to Swansea in August 2021 after the Welsh club made an official approach to MK Dons on the eve of their season opener, leading them to 15th and then 10th-placed finishes in the Championship before moving to Southampton. Martin's firm commitment to possession-based football drew some criticism as Saints struggled in the top flight and he defended his approach days before the fateful meeting with Ange Postecoglou's Spurs side. 'I get criticised for the same thing (as Postecoglou),' said Martin. 'About being stubborn and all that stuff. But if you believe in something and it's taken you a certain way in life then to deviate too far from that is crazy. 'I can't speak for him but we are also adapting. We adapt shape, approach, personnel, but with the same consistency about what is important for us, with the same concept of the game. We can't deviate too far from that otherwise we become nothing, really.' Martin now looks set to take his principles up against another purveyor of possession-based football and one of his predecessors as Swansea manager, Brendan Rodgers, whose Celtic side recently won their 13th title in 14 years. Although Rangers have only won three major trophies since emerging from the Ibrox liquidation crisis of 2012, Martin will have a good grasp of the fans' demands and expectations, which have been raised by the takeover and the promise of a £20million investment in the playing side. Martin spent the second half of the 2017-18 season on loan from Norwich at Rangers, playing under caretaker managers Graeme Murty and then Jimmy Nicholl. His appearances included a 4-0 Scottish Cup semi-final defeat and 5-0 loss against a Rodgers-led Celtic side as Rangers finished third in the Premiership.
The National
2 hours ago
- The National
Dealing with Southampton heat showed Russell Martin can hack Rangers
The Scotland goalkeeper, though, insisted he couldn't recollect that fateful moment in an English Championship match against Fulham at Craven Cottage eight years ago when he spoke to the media at Hampden yesterday. "I remember my debut,' he said following a national team training session at Lesser Hampden ahead of the friendly international against Iceland in Mount Florida on Friday night. 'But I can't remember him scoring against me, no. Did he? We won't mention that, because he's a good guy.' Yet, Gunn had no problem recalling what a fine footballer, inspirational leader and cerebral thinker on the game Martin, who had just been tipped to take over as manager at Rangers when he arrived at his press conference, was when they had played together at Carrow Road at the start of his professional career. The difficulties which Norwich experienced against the Swansea City and Southampton sides the former Scotland centre-half managed were also fresh in his mind. Read more: Opinion about the man who led the St Mary's Stadium outfit back into the Premier League via the end-of-season play-offs last year was sharply divided among fans of the Glasgow club. Many admitted they would have preferred Davide Ancelotti, Francesco Farioli or Steven Gerrard to succeed Philippe Clement. But Gunn was adamant that appointing Martin, who was sacked back in December following a disappointing run of results in the English top flight, would be no own goal by Rangers. 'It's hard to compare a promoted team going into the Premier League with a team like Rangers going into European games,' he said. 'But I think he showed what he can do as a manager, 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, 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. "But Southampton were a tough team. We had a couple of good games against them. We saw 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 more 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 he was reluctant to change, I thought he did that quite well, especially in the Championship anyway. (Image: Andrew Matthews) "It is a difficult league to get out of. We had the pressure of them coming down as well. A lot of the teams find it quite hard. I was there at Southampton previously and I felt it. There was a lot of pressure on him and the team and he managed to deliver. 'I don't know if he's going to go to Rangers or not, but obviously he had a spell there as a player so he kind of knows the club a little bit. I think it would be a really good thing for the Rangers, to be fair.' Gunn always suspected that Martin, whose partner is former glamour model Lucy Pinder, who is a former member of the Green Party, who is a proponent of Buddhism and who is a vegan, was destined to move into management and his success with MK Dons, Swansea and Southampton in the past six years has not surprised him. 'I only worked with him as a player at Norwich,' he said. 'But 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. He was the captain of the club and he had good relationships with everyone in the dressing room. 'There were a few other players in that dressing room who were like that,' he said. 'Steven Naismith was there as well. But you can definitely tell on the pitch when you're playing with players who are going to go into management. They kind of start coaching whilst they're still playing, if you like, sort of organising on the pitch. Read more: '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, I wasn't a regular playing in the team, he was always on hand and always upbeat and a good person to go to. 'I watch him now on the television and can see the way he wants teams to play football and what his philosophy is. I really hope whatever he goes on to in his career is successful.' Gunn, who was released by Norwich at the end of last season, is eager to put a difficult season firmly behind him and is looking forward to featuring in both of the Scotland friendlies in the coming days and performing well for his country. 'The injuries have probably been the most challenging thing to me because I've not been injured too much in my career,' he said. 'Sometimes that's hard to deal with if you're not used to it. But I thought I dealt with it quite well. I came back, tried to come back stronger. 'Obviously, it's a different stage of my career now. I'm getting a little bit older and every year is different. From my point of view, I don't really look too much into the past. I'm more excited for the future.'
The Herald Scotland
2 hours ago
- The Herald Scotland
Dealing with Southampton heat showed Russell Martin can hack Rangers
"I remember my debut,' he said following a national team training session at Lesser Hampden ahead of the friendly international against Iceland in Mount Florida on Friday night. 'But I can't remember him scoring against me, no. Did he? We won't mention that, because he's a good guy.' Yet, Gunn had no problem recalling what a fine footballer, inspirational leader and cerebral thinker on the game Martin, who had just been tipped to take over as manager at Rangers when he arrived at his press conference, was when they had played together at Carrow Road at the start of his professional career. The difficulties which Norwich experienced against the Swansea City and Southampton sides the former Scotland centre-half managed were also fresh in his mind. Read more: Opinion about the man who led the St Mary's Stadium outfit back into the Premier League via the end-of-season play-offs last year was sharply divided among fans of the Glasgow club. Many admitted they would have preferred Davide Ancelotti, Francesco Farioli or Steven Gerrard to succeed Philippe Clement. But Gunn was adamant that appointing Martin, who was sacked back in December following a disappointing run of results in the English top flight, would be no own goal by Rangers. 'It's hard to compare a promoted team going into the Premier League with a team like Rangers going into European games,' he said. 'But I think he showed what he can do as a manager, 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, 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. "But Southampton were a tough team. We had a couple of good games against them. We saw 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 more 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 he was reluctant to change, I thought he did that quite well, especially in the Championship anyway. (Image: Andrew Matthews) "It is a difficult league to get out of. We had the pressure of them coming down as well. A lot of the teams find it quite hard. I was there at Southampton previously and I felt it. There was a lot of pressure on him and the team and he managed to deliver. 'I don't know if he's going to go to Rangers or not, but obviously he had a spell there as a player so he kind of knows the club a little bit. I think it would be a really good thing for the Rangers, to be fair.' Gunn always suspected that Martin, whose partner is former glamour model Lucy Pinder, who is a former member of the Green Party, who is a proponent of Buddhism and who is a vegan, was destined to move into management and his success with MK Dons, Swansea and Southampton in the past six years has not surprised him. 'I only worked with him as a player at Norwich,' he said. 'But 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. He was the captain of the club and he had good relationships with everyone in the dressing room. 'There were a few other players in that dressing room who were like that,' he said. 'Steven Naismith was there as well. But you can definitely tell on the pitch when you're playing with players who are going to go into management. They kind of start coaching whilst they're still playing, if you like, sort of organising on the pitch. Read more: '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, I wasn't a regular playing in the team, he was always on hand and always upbeat and a good person to go to. 'I watch him now on the television and can see the way he wants teams to play football and what his philosophy is. I really hope whatever he goes on to in his career is successful.' Gunn, who was released by Norwich at the end of last season, is eager to put a difficult season firmly behind him and is looking forward to featuring in both of the Scotland friendlies in the coming days and performing well for his country. 'The injuries have probably been the most challenging thing to me because I've not been injured too much in my career,' he said. 'Sometimes that's hard to deal with if you're not used to it. But I thought I dealt with it quite well. I came back, tried to come back stronger. 'Obviously, it's a different stage of my career now. I'm getting a little bit older and every year is different. From my point of view, I don't really look too much into the past. I'm more excited for the future.'
