Rangers boss Russell Martin labelled ‘cocky' by Southampton owner – but explains why he was UNLUCKY to be sacked by him
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RUSSELL MARTIN will begin work with his new Rangers squad next week.
But Southampton's owner reckons the Gers boss is unlucky not to still be in his previous post - despite being the man who sacked him.
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Russell Martin has taken over at Rangers
Credit: PA
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Southampton owner Dragan Solak has been discussing Russell Martin
Credit: Richard Pelham / The Sun
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Martin was dismissed by Southampton last December
Credit: Getty
Martin, 39, was appointed Rangers head coach on a three-year contract a couple of weeks ago.
A former Light Blues defender, he'll get down to work with his players when they return for pre-season training at the beginning of next week.
Martin will have just a month to get the squad ready for action with the Gers' first competitive fixture of the new campaign just weeks away.
The Light Blues will take on Greek giants Panathinaikos in a crucial Champions League qualifier, with the first leg at Ibrox on July 22 or 23.
Martin's appointment at Rangers saw him return to football after a six-month asbence.
Formerly manager of MK Dons and Swansea, he was most recently in charge of Southampton.
Appointed by the Saints in the summer of 2023, Martin led the club to an immediate return to the Premier League after winning the Championship play-offs.
Things didn't go so well in the top division, however, with Martin dismissed as boss after a run of just one league win from 16 matches.
His sacking came in December last year, just five months after he'd signed a new long-term contract.
Southampton are owned by Serbian businessman Dragan Solak, and he's been speaking about Martin's time in charge at the club.
Russell Martin says he can win trophies NOW as he's unveiled as new Rangers manager
Despite being the man who ultimately fired Martin, Solak reckons the new Gers boss was in fact UNLUCKY to lose his job.
That's because he pins a lot of the blame on Southampton's woes last season on VAR and insists that Martin WOULD have seen out the season as Saints manager had they not been cost so many points.
Since becoming a manager, Martin's teams have been known for having a strong identity and style of play.
And Solak admits that the new Rangers gaffer was perhaps a 'bit cocky' with his approach to taking on the Premier League.
Expressing his regret at sporting director Jason Wilcox's exit, Solak told the Daily Echo: "Unfortunately, we didn't replace Jason. Him leaving was a huge blow, he was the guy who started building this environment.
"Then the bloody Man U came in and stole him from us, and we didn't replace him quickly enough. That was a big mistake, and I take my part in it.
"We went into the Premier League a bit unprepared. We had a very smart manager, Russell Martin, and I still believe he will have a great career.
"But maybe he was a little bit cocky and he came in with his vision, and he wanted to sell it to the Premier League, and that was a risky approach.
"We lost some games to stupid mistakes, and then if I could speak in Serbian about the VAR last season, that would be some speech.
"In Serbian, we have very colourful language, and we go very deep when we explain things, so I'll stick to English. We were super unlucky on VAR.
"That, in my opinion, cost us about eight points that we actually deserved, and then instead of being comfortable, you start feeling the pressure.
"You start to innovate and try things that sometimes can work, but in our case, it didn't. When we started changing, it actually went for worse."
In a separate interview with the BBC, Solak expanded on his VAR frustrations.
And he insisted that had VAR not cost - in his opinion - Southampton so many points early in the season, then Martin would DEFINITELY remained in charge.
Solak added: "I really believe he (Martin) was absolutely, fundamentally behind his idea of football and that is not easy in an environment like the Premier League that is so competitive.
"But to give him credit we were quite unlucky, I don't even know how to characterise some of the VAR decisions that we had - but in my opinion VAR took eight points off Russell's team.
"If he had those eight points more in December I think he would probably manage the team through the whole season.
"I'm not saying we would stay in the league but we would have (had) a much more competitive run and Russell would definitely still be leading the team."
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