Russell Martin close to taking over as Rangers manager on three-year deal
Rangers are finalising a deal to appoint Russell Martin as their new head coach. The 39-year-old former Southampton manager will be installed in the Ibrox hotseat in the next 48 hours, barring any last-minute hitches, on a three-year deal.
The appointment of a new man at the helm is the latest in a series of major changes at the club. An American consortium led by Andrew Cavenagh and 49ers Enterprises secured a majority shareholding on Friday and the new sporting director, Kevin Thelwell, officially began work on Monday, when he said that the recruitment of a new head coach would come to a conclusion 'in the coming days'.
Outgoing Real Madrid assistant manager Davide Ancelotti, son of Carlo Ancelotti, and Martin were the two frontrunners for the post, vacated by Philippe Clement in February, with the former Rangers captain Barry Ferguson taking over to the end of the season, which ended without a trophy.
However, it is Martin, the former MK Dons and Swansea manager who had a short loan spell as a player at Rangers in 2018, who will be tasked with wrestling the power back from the other side of the city where Celtic this season won their 13th Premiership title in 14 seasons and have a stranglehold on Scottish football.
The former Scotland international brought Southampton up to the Premier League through the playoffs in 2024 but was sacked in December as they headed back towards the Championship with one win from their first 16 games.
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