Rangers royalty all have the same conversation as Russell Martin breaks out the big guns for Champions League shootout
Russell Martin this week threw the doors open to three Ibrox icons.
Now he hopes the visit of Sir Alex Ferguson, John Grieg and Richard Gough will inspire his new team to make the most of the window of opportunity that lies ahead for them tonight.
The Rangers boss was only too happy to welcome legendary skippers Grieg and Gough into his Auchenhowie office this week.
But the most famous face to drop by undoubtedly belonged to Fergie.
The visit was arranged by Sir Alex's son Darren, who managed Martin during his playing days at Peterborough.
A chance to pick the brains of one of the most decorated managers the game has ever known was a moment the new Ibrox boss simply couldn't pass up.
But just as important he believes was the message sent to his players by the sight of three men who achieved it all - and in Grieg and Gough's case, while wearing a blue jersey - strutting along the training ground corridors.
Martin wants his squad to realise that they too can become heroes to the Rangers support if they can only make a success of things.
That all starts on Tuesday evening when they kick-off the new campaign against opening Champions League opponents Panathinaikos, where the former Southampton manager hopes to give his first proper demonstration of his vision for a winning Rangers side.
Asked to detail what he was looking for, Martin said: 'For us to be dominant, in control, aggressive, fast, to outrun and outfight the opposition, I think we have to do that.
'We had two Rangers legends and a legend of the game this week who supports this club and they all had the same conversation with every single one about what this club means to them and we have to represent that as much as we can.
'That's to try to be as dominant as we possibly can in every aspect of the game.
'We had John Brown, Lee McCulloch, Ian Durrant at the [Hamilton bounce game] and it was great to see them too.
'The door is open to people who have had success here, they know what it takes, what the club is about. They support the club, they felt what it means to be here and be part of it.
'Anyone that can impart some wisdom on that and some experience, and people who have had big success here as well, is hugely helpful to me, to the staff, to the players.
'It's been great, the energy around the training ground. Seeing some of the players are in awe of these people is brilliant.
'It just reminds you that the players are human as well. They have people they look up to and they aspire to be like. This group will have a chance to create their own history, their own legacy and that has to be the message all the time.
'We have a chance to come here and do something really special and doing that and that has to be the aim for us this year.'
Rangers have fallen well short of those aims in recent seasons.
Seven new players have arrived this summer but as for the rest, they all bear the scars of those repeated failures.
Does Martin fear those painful memories continue to dog his squad?
'I'll tell you tomorrow at 10 o'clock,' he said. 'I think it's the best test. It's sometimes not a true reflection, what we've seen in training, has been amazing.
'They've come with fresh energy, with willingness and openness to new ideas, to new demands, to maybe different rules to what they've had before and they've been great the way they've embraced it.
'And now the biggest challenge for them is to do it in front of 50,000 people with a game that means so much to so many people and, for any football player, I think it's the biggest test to be yourself in them situations.
'What we have seen over the last four weeks, the more chance we have of being successful. I hope they play with the same freedom, enjoyment and aggression and willingness to run.'
With so much change from the boardroom to the dressing room taking place in recent weeks at Ibrox, Martin has pleaded for patience while his new team beds in.
But with the former Scotland defender intent on implementing a new possession-based gameplan, he's hoping the punters cut him a bit more slack that they afforded him while booing his team off against pre-season opponents Club Brugge after just 45 minutes.
He said: 'It's not all going to be plain sailing, there will be some bumpy moments but we have to make sure that everyone can understand and see what we are trying to achieve.
'I think the second half against Brugge did that, the first half did the opposite!
"The second half, I think people started to see that. We'd have loved another game or two at Ibrox but the pitch wasn't ready.
'It is now, it's in good shape. We didn't want to jeopardise that.
'There will be times for a bit of patience and calm, but the patience needs to come when we have the ball in the opposition half, not near our own goal.
'So, I think that will be the message, we're going to need the supporters, they were amazing in the pre-season friendly second half, they've been brilliant whenever we've bumped into anyone around the city, they've been amazing.
'And they are the most important people and I hope they can feel the freshness and the energy in their team tomorrow night.
'But I hope that the fans will leave feeling excited about what's to come and start being a real connection.
'Because I think if we can be connected, the whole club, Ibrox, here, the supporters, if this club has that, with that energy, I think it's going to take some stopping.
'I think it's really powerful. But we have to all believe in something and that will be how much the players are willing to win, the hunger, the character, the desire to show. And I'm confident that we'll see that.'
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