‘I hope he gets the support he needs' – Rangers legend spotted as he's granted personal audience with Russell Martin
Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
RANGERS boss Russell Martin was granted a personal audience with an Ibrox legend this morning ahead of the midweek Champions League crunch vs Panathinaikos.
Nine in a row icon Richard Gough visited the club's training base at Auchenhowie and had a few words of support.
Sign up for the Rangers newsletter
Sign up
2
The real stuff starts for Russell Martin this week
Credit: Willie Vass
2
Russell Martin with Richard Gough
Sharing an image with Martin on his Instagram account, Gough wrote: "Met this man this morning to wish him well at our football club.
"Terrific fella.
"I hope he gets the support he needs to get us back to where we belong."
Martin is paid to make the big calls and that job started in earnest this week when he had to reveal his 25-man squad list to take on the Greeks.
Both Cyriel Dessers and Hamza Igamane were included, despite being linked with moves away.
But Ben Davies, Ridvan Yilmaz and Robin Propper have all been left OUT as was Rabbi Matondo who is currently nursing an injury.
New £3.5million man Thelo Aasgaard has been included despite the fact injury may prevent him from featuring in the first leg - with Martin admitting today the player is "touch and go" for the first game.
He said: "It's disappointing for him and for us. Everything we thought we were getting from him and more.
"His athleticism, the power he's got and more. He really is an exciting player for us, It has been high demands for him in pre-season and he has picked up something.
"He is going to be touch and go, we hope he is going to be involved but if not he will be raring to go for the second one."
Rangers-daft pub goes up for sale in Scots town
Martin says most recent arrival Djeidi Gassama won't be ready to start the first game but will play a part and will be ready for the second match.
He said: "Gassama is a little bit behind. He's not ready to start the game but he's totally different to anything we've got.
"He's unpredictable, he's a fantastic one vs one specialist. He has real individual talent and we are convinced within our team work and our structure he will stand out and create moments that are really brilliant.
"He will be in the squad and definitely ready to go in the second game. First game we might have to manage his minutes."
Martin reckons the adrenaline will help get the players through.
He said: "They're in a good place physically, a much better place where we were three or four weeks ago, tactically definitely in a much better place. Now we need to be ready for whatever else the game throws at us."
Have YOU got a point for Kris Boyd?
Kris Boyd and Roger Hannah chew over the big talking points each week
SOMETHING you've just got to get off your chest from the weekend action?
A burning Scottish football talking point you can't wait to bring up with Kris Boyd and Roger Hannah?
SunSport's GoBallistic show wants to hear from you!
So why not help set the Scottish football agenda for the week ahead!
Have your say on the game's big topics by emailing us on: GoBallistic@thesun.co.uk
It's YOUR turn to Go Ballistic!
Keep up to date with ALL the latest news and transfers at the Scottish Sun football page
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Scottish Sun
9 minutes ago
- Scottish Sun
Rangers transfer latest as Mikey Moore could be first of THREE wingers to join club – and why he was compared to NEYMAR
RANGERS' quest to reach the Champions League ramps up a notch this week as they face Panathinaikos again. Alongside that, the quest to bolster the squad at Ibrox continues on as well! Advertisement 6 Russell Martin is busy adding to his squad Credit: Willie Vass 6 Mikey Moore is close to joining Rangers Credit: Getty 6 SunSport broke the news of the Gers' interest in Jesurun Rak-Sakyi Credit: Getty 6 One Rangers target has been compared to NEYMAR Credit: Getty Rangers are in Athens to take on Panathinaikos in the second leg of their second qualifying round encounter. Advertisement The Gers have a 2-0 lead from the first leg thanks to Findlay Curtis and Djeidi Gassama striking a couple of crackers last week. Russell Martin will, of course, be hoping to lead his team to the next around and he'll be hoping to call upon some new faces if he gets them there. The Light Blues are in the market for wingers and they're currently chasing THREE players in that position. The Gers boss will also be keen to move players OUT of his bloated squad - and there could be movement right around the corner. SunSport's sports content editor David Friel and reporter Andy Devlin - on location in Greece - have all the latest. Advertisement MIKEY MOORE Andy Devlin It's pretty close. I think the issue Rangers had in the last 48 hours was just convincing Spurs that Ibrox was the right place for him to go to. Spurs until eight hours ago weren't entirely sure whether they wanted the young lad to go out on loan anywhere, he's so highly rated. He's only 17, there will be a lot of expectation, a lot of pressure. Major Mikey Moore Rangers loan doubts & 'strange situation' at Celtic + transfer news Go Ballistic You just look at the testimonies about him, his ability, Ange Postecolgou rates him so highly. Advertisement There's been a lot of interest from Championship clubs in him as well but it's looking like Rangers are in the box seat to secure his signature which would be on a season long loan with no option to buy because the boy has an obvious future at Tottenham, it's another exciting signing for the Ranges support. The lad himself is wanting the move to Rangers. Championship wont give him European football, Rangers will do that. He's had some appearances last season for Spurs in run to the Europa League Final, 21 in total, so not as if he hasn't played first team football. He's used to that environment. He is one that despite his age, he will be ready to come in and play a part in the Rangers team. David Friel Advertisement It looks as if it'll be Rangers, he's a really interesting player, a special talent. As Andy says, you only have to see how much Ange Postecoglou admired him. After a game in Europe, James Maddison compared him to Neymar in terms of his dribbling skills. With certain players, their development comes at different times. I think Spurs feel his development is fast tracked to the extent there's no point in him coming on for five/ten minutes here and there every other Premier League game. They want him to play meaningful football, at a good level, under scrutiny and he'll get that at Rangers. Advertisement I get the risk - it's a first loan for him, he's a young player, sometimes it's eays ot burst onto the scene and make that impact. I wouldn't expect absolute miracles from Mikey Moore immediately but he can help Rangers and Rangers can help him. Russell Martin has a track record of working with young players. I think it's a good fit. 6 Oliver Antman is another Rangers target Credit: Getty OLIVER ANTMAN David Friel Advertisement He's got an interesting background, good experience, has been playing really well in Holland. He has taken a bit of a strange route, he's had a couple of knock-backs in his career, he's gone for moves, he's a product of Nordsjaelland system - Diomande, Nygren, they're really good at developing players. He went to Groningen on loan, he's come back and ended up going to Go Ahead Eagles for just over £1million which for Go Ahead Eagles is a lot of money, at that time I think he was one of their record signings. He's really done well, good experience with the Finnish national team as well. He's a player who I think would be a shrewd one, it'd be a permanent move as well. Advertisement If Rangers can get the balance between getting these loans in they can feel benefit the team but then getting the long-term signings that you want to build your team around for the next few years and that one ticks the box. JESURUN RAK-SAKYI David Friel I think it might be one Rangers need to be a bit patient with. Crystal Palace's stance, by all accounts, is that they are probably somewhere down the line open to a loan move for him but they would rather just sell him now. If the money being talked about - £10million - I can't really see Rangers sanctioning that for Rak-Sakyi. Advertisement I don't think any of the noises coming from Rangers is that they would entertain that or even try to go to that. I wonder if it's a bit of wait and see with Rak-Sakyi. Clearly Russell Martin has been talking about how much he admires him, he clearly wants him in. I don't think this is dependent on the other wings that we've spoken about - Gassama's in the door, they want Antman, they're very close to Mikey Moore - but I think it's just another winger that Russell Martin wants. Clearly he wants options. If you look at the modern game, the front three tends to change after an hour. Advertisement You basically use six forwards in every game and Rangers have got so many games. Rak-Sakyi is one Rangers have clearly targeted but they might need to be a bit patient with how it pans out and what other interest comes in. If Palace do get the permanent bid he'll probably go elsewhere but Rangers are clearly in the conversation and all the noises are that he'd be quite keen to come to Rangers, I think he's excited about what Russell Martin is doing. I'd never, ever rule that out. I think Rangers are right in the mix but it might depend on what other clubs go. Advertisement I think Russell Martin will look at the formation he plays, you would want four strong wingers. That's before we even talk about guys like Oscar Cortes who's still there. I think he's looking at it and being quite ambitious, for me. It might even end up being two loans - for Moore and Rak-Sakyi. 6 Advertisement KIERAN DOWELL David Friel I think there's a wait and see element with Rangers being successful being in that attacking area. I think Russell Martin's been quite clever in the sense that he's looked at the squad, looked at Dowell's experience and clearly knows the player, and he's thinking 'I'm going to need him for these qualifiers at the very least.' I think he's been quite clever to say to Kieran Dowell 'let's just see how things go, do as well as you can, I'm going to give you a pivotal role for these next few weeks, I really need you.' Long term, do I think Kieran Dowell is the answer for Rangers? Advertisement No, I think the last few years have probably just damaged his reputation with the fans because it's never really worked out. He'll always start on that negative point. He would probably say he's not had that many chances, or a prolonged run in the team. He's just got so much to prove and he'd have to play so well to win the fans over that long term I don't think he's going to be the answer. In the short term, Rangers probably need that experience. Advertisement CONOR COADY It's not looking likely but I would never say never on it. We spoke about moving parts, it's probably the same with what are Leicester going to do? It goes back to wages, the fee, all sorts of stuff. I'd never say never but the longer it goes on I wonder if Rangers really are starting to look elsewhere. Have YOU got a point for Kris Boyd? Kris Boyd and Roger Hannah chew over the big talking points each week SOMETHING you've just got to get off your chest from the weekend action? A burning Scottish football talking point you can't wait to bring up with Kris Boyd and Roger Hannah? SunSport's GoBallistic show wants to hear from you! So why not help set the Scottish football agenda for the week ahead! Have your say on the game's big topics by emailing us on: GoBallistic@ It's YOUR turn to Go Ballistic! Keep up to date with ALL the latest news and transfers at the Scottish Sun football page
Scottish Sun
9 minutes ago
- Scottish Sun
Motherwell considering bids for Lennon Miller as rival European clubs battle it out amid ‘intensifying' transfer chase
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) JENS BERTHEL ASKOU has confirmed Motherwell are considering bids for Lennon Miller. Serie A rivals Udinese and Bologna are battling it out for the 18-year-old Scotland midfielder. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 2 Lennon Miller looks set to leave Scotland in the near future Credit: Willie Vass 2 Motherwell boss Jens Berthel Askou has given an update Credit: Willie Vass Ipswich Town and Celtic are also admirers of Miller - but he appears destined to move abroad. Well boss Askou said: 'There have been some bids for Lennon recently. 'It's something the board is working with and it is going on in the background. 'That will probably intensify in the coming days. 'But who knows how long it is going to take. 'There has been a lot of speculation, rumours and interest in him for a long time and now it is intensifying. 'There is a high probability that Lennon will move this summer but nothing is finalised yet. 'There are concrete things going on at the moment, which we expected. 'And it's going to be interesting to see how it turns out. 'For now, Lennon is still a Motherwell player and he's doing his best to get back to full training. Lennon Miller is now too good for Rangers & Celtic and will move to bigger club says Kris Boyd 'We will see if we see him on the pitch again or not, but we are trying our best to get him ready.' Askou comes up against former Norwich City pal Russell Martin in Saturday's Premiership opener against Rangers. He told Sky Sports: 'Of course that adds a little bit of extra spice to the game! 'But as a club, it's a fantastic test for us against a very good opponent who have progressed and developed a lot over the summer. 'A lot of good things have happened here, and a lot of good things have happened at Rangers with Russell coming in. 'It will be an interesting game to watch and it will be a challenging game to coach and manage from our side.' Keep up to date with ALL the latest news and transfers at the Scottish Sun football page
BBC News
9 minutes ago
- BBC News
Season predictions: Survival scramble & Adams to continue 'meteoric rise'
Where will you finish in the league and why?A fight for survival seems likely given our squad's inexperience and unfamiliarity with the Scottish Premiership. While I'm optimistic about our chances of finishing 10th, preserving our top-flight status via a nerve-shredding play-off victory would be more Falkirk-esque - we rarely do things the easy is the best signing or has he not signed yet and who should it be?Further reinforcements are needed and can be expected according to John McGlynn. As for our new arrivals, Lewis Neilson has impressed in cup matches and looks like he will fit perfectly into our possession-based style of do you want from your manager this season?To relish every moment and embrace the challenge. McGlynn has had a transformational effect since his arrival, guiding us from League One to the Premiership playing a brand of aesthetically pleasing football the supporters connect with. Regardless of how this season pans out, McGlynn will still have plenty of credit in the bank with the vast majority of Bairns will be the breakout star in your squad?Keelan Adams was our breakout star last season and he is more than capable of continuing his meteoric rise by making a splash on Scottish football's biggest stage. Signed from Cumbernauld Colts, Adams is the epitome of a modern full-back with genuine attacking is your one major concern?Our weakness when it comes to dealing with set-piece scenarios. It's an issue that has plagued us for a while and reared its head again during last week's League Cup win over Queen's Park.
