What Russell Martin said about Rangers after his loan
Martin has won the race for the Gers job and will soon put pen-to-paper and be unveiled by the club over the next 48 hours.
The Rangers Review understands the former Scotland defender has agreed terms on a three-year deal after edging ahead of Davide Ancelotti as the favourite of club chiefs.
The 39-year-old is no stranger to Rangers having spent half a season on loan at the tail end of the shambolic 2017/18 season, with Graeme Murty in charge at the time.
It was a dark time for the club, finishing third in the Scottish top flight for a second season in a row and sacking Pedro Caixinha after months in the job.
On a personal level, Martin did little to win fans over after joining on loan from Norwich in the January, making a total of 17 appearances at centre-back.
But, speaking shortly afterwards, he insisted the club was "all over the place" at the time, which didn't help.
However, he did speak positively about the size and demands of the club and insisted he loved his time.
Martin admitted he didn't know the scale of the club until he came up from England - something that will stand him in better stead this time having had that experience.
Read more: Russell Martin to win Rangers boss race and put pen-to-paper on Ibrox deal
Russell Martin to become next Rangers manager and succeed Clement - Video
He told the Eastern Daily Press back in 2018: 'I don't think anything can prepare you for it.
'It's huge. You've got an idea but it's only when you go up there that you realise how big it is.
'Just walking around the streets, it's a giant of a football club with a great fan base.
'For me it was a bit wrong place, wrong time.
'The club was a bit all over the place and then a change of manager, who was an interim manager anyway (Graeme Murty).
'But I loved playing for a football club of that size and that support.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The National
33 minutes ago
- The National
Robin Propper 'reaches agreement' over Rangers transfer exit
Sources in The Netherlands claim the defender, 31, has 'agreed' to return to his homeland after just one season in Glasgow. Philippe Clement signed the centre-back last summer from FC Twente. He joined as Connor Goldson's replacement. However, things haven't panned out as planned for Propper in a Rangers jersey. He has copped plenty of criticism for his performances at the back, with the Scottish game seemingly too quick and physical for his capabilities, although, injuries were also an issue. Propper did go on to make 39 appearances across all competitions though, scoring twice, including during a 3-0 victory over Celtic at Ibrox. Read more: Now, according to TwenteFans, it looks like Propper's short stay in Scotland could be coming to an end. The site claims he's reached an agreement to go back to his old club, Twente. The report fails to mention a fee, with the defender contracted at Ibrox until the summer of 2028. However, they have suggested that Propper will sign a three-year contract at the Eredivisie side. Russell Martin was yesterday unveiled as Rangers' new head coach. The former Southampton boss will immediately get to work on shaping his squad ahead of the players returning for pre-season later this month.
Scotsman
36 minutes ago
- Scotsman
Scottish Ministers approve battery site next to school
Scottish Ministers have given the go ahead to a battery storage site less than 100 metres from a school campus despite safety concerns. Sign up to our daily newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to Edinburgh News, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Midlothian councillors urged the Scottish Government's Energy Consent Unit to consider the fact the new Battery Energy Storage System, known as BESS, would be so close to the Dalkeith campus which has around 2,500 children and young people in its roll. But a meeting of the council's planning committee next week will hear the BESS has been approved with no mention of fire risks or the proximity of the school in the Minister's decision. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad A report to councillors says: 'The Ministers are satisfied that landscape and visual impacts, impacts on traffic, impacts from noise, coal mining legacy issues, decommissioning, and pollution prevention can all be mitigated via the use of conditions. A Battery Energy Storage System is proposed for field behind Dalkeith schools campus. (Pic: Google Maps) 'The determination letter does not make any comment on fire risk or the safety of the schools campus.' Ministers determined the benefits of the new site would be vital to meeting net zero targets They said: 'Energy storage such as the proposed development provides will be vital in that context to help maintain the balance between supply and demand, to ensuring security of supply, and to reducing the curtailment of renewable generators under grid constraints which would otherwise result in a loss of valuable renewable generation. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'Secure and stable energy supply is a fundamental need of a prosperous economy. As well as the potential economic benefit to local and national businesses during construction, the proposed development would provide further benefit to the economy through its contribution to underpinning energy security and flexibility.' Midlothian councillors wrote to the Energy Consent Unit, which is responsible for decisions about BESS applications, to raise their concern about it being placed on a 12 hectare field behind the school campus which includes Dalkeith and St Davids High Schools as well as Saltersgate School and Woodburn Primary School. Councillor Ellen Scott, SNP administration education spokesperson, told a meeting of the planning committee in December that there had been an explosion and major fire in Merseyside four years ago at a battery storage unit where it was reported the temperature on the site rose to 40 degrees Celsius within two minutes. She said: 'This site is just 70 metres from the edge of the schools campus where 2,500 of our young people, some very young at three years old and some with severe complex needs, are going to be.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Her comments were supported by Councillor Dianne Alexander who also said the site was over a 'coal seam and gas pipe' She said: 'I just think this is too dangerous for us to allow.' The proposals for the site include a BESS with a capacity of 200 megawatts with 168 storage containers spread across four compounds. The containers will be used to house Lithium-ion batteries and the compounds will be hard surfaced and enclosed with three metre high fencing. The report to councillors next week says: 'The Scottish Ministers in making their determination on the application, have balanced all relevant considerations, decided what weight is to be given to each and reached a view as to where the balance of benefit lies. 'On balance, it is considered that the impacts of the proposed development are acceptable in the context of its benefits, and that the development is supported by relevant planning and energy policies.'
Daily Record
37 minutes ago
- Daily Record
Why Russell Martin has really left Rangers fans 'underwhelmed' as Celtic daft Alan Brazil has no doubt over one thing
The big news from Scotland reached the talkSPORT airwaves this morning and once again Steven Gerrard's name cropped up Russell Martin is officially the new manager of Rangers after the long search came to a conclusion on Thursday – but Alan Brazil gets why some fans are 'underwhelmed' by the appointment. The Ibrox bosses went through a rigorous process with a number of big names including Steven Gerrard and Davide Ancelotti mentioned to be Philippe Clement's successor, but in the end it was former defender and Southampton boss Martin who won the race. He was unveiled in his new role yesterday and will need to get cracking with Champions League qualifiers in around seven weeks time and the big pre-season return on June 23. The appointment has gathered mixed reviews and Brazil reckons he knows why 'one or two are underwhelmed'. Speaking on talkSPORT, he said: "I think why one or two people are underwhelmed is because Steven Gerrard's name was branded about. One or two other big names as well. "Listen, Russell is a good coach, no doubt about it. People, I don't know what they want. "The guy has managed in the Premiership, he took them down but they played good football at times but as Ally McCoist said, it is a different game in Scotland and you need players that can play out from the back and he's not sure that Rangers have got them." He added: "He's not daft. He will know Celtic have the superior side and squad at the moment. "He will be rubbing his hands taking on Brendan [Rodgers] don't worry about that. He knows how big Rangers are as a football club." Co-host Ray Parlour offered his view adding: "All I will say is, if you look to Steven Gerrard as manager. I don't know the reasons why, he was mentioned quite often. "People would probably want to play for Steven Gerrard because his name and all that sort of stuff. There is a project here under Steven Gerrard and I want to be part of that. "I am not knocking him here, and you've got to give him a chance and everybody deserves a chance and he might prove everybody wrong and win the league, who knows? "But people might look at Russell Martin and say 'do I really want to play for a person like that?' "I want to play for Steven Gerrard and his make up if it was Steven Davis and Jordan Henderson was involved, people like that. "It's quite exciting for any player to go and be part of that." You can get all the news you need on our dedicated Rangers and Celtic pages, and sign up to our newsletters to make sure you never miss a beat throughout the season. We're also on WhatsApp where we bring all the latest breaking news and transfer gossip directly to you phone. Join our Rangers community here and our Celtic community here. Tune in to Hotline Live every Sunday to Thursday and have your say on the biggest issues in Scottish football and listen to Record Sport's newest podcast, Game On, every Friday for your sporting fix, all in bitesize chunks.
