Russell Martin quizzed on Kieran Dowell's Rangers future as boss opens up on decision to select him
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RUSSELL MARTIN has revealed that he hopes Kieran Dowell will still be a Rangers player when the summer window closes.
The Rangers boss gave an update on the midfielder's future after he picked him again to face Panathinaikos in Athens - after selecting him for the first leg at Ibrox too.
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Dowell during the second leg in Athens
Credit: Alamy
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Russell Martin doesn't want to lose him
Credit: EPA
If you told Rangers at the end of last season that Dowell would have a key role to play in the Champions League qualifiers this summer, they wouldn't have believed you.
He was expected to be one of the many to head for the exit door in Martin's new regime.
It's been the opposite, though, and Martin hopes that he'll be able to rely on the Englishman throughout the coming campaign.
However, he admits that the decision is down to the player himself and understands that "things can change very, very quickly in football".
On his performance in Greece, Martin said: "He took the ball well for us, out of possession, he pressed like a beast, he's so reliable, at set pieces he did a big job for us tonight.
"Defensively, he did a big, big job, and he's a really good footballer.
"I think we've come in with a clean slate and I hope people are seeing what he brings right now.
"It's not his most natural position for sure, but he's doing a brilliant job for us out there, and he's been great since we've come in.
"As a person and a character and the way he trains, he's been fantastic, and we'll see what happens.
"There are lots of players who maybe thought their future was going to be elsewhere, or maybe they thought it was going to be here, and things can change very, very quickly in football.
"So whilst he's here we've been so happy with him, and I hope he's part of our squad, I really do, but obviously things can change in football quickly.
"I hope Kieran's enjoying it, but you'd have to ask him. He's been really good for us."
Dowell joined Rangers on a free transfer from Norwich City along with Todd Cantwell in 2023.
The 27-year-old failed to impress in Scotland, though, and was shipped out on loan to Birmingham City last season.
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