Russell Martin faces Rangers task I can't ever recall and depth charge could destroy the lot

Daily Record

20-07-2025

The new Ibrox boss faces a huge task early in - the like our man has never seen before with a Govan gaffer
The way things are going with incoming transfers at Ibrox, Rangers will need to qualify for the Champions League to cover the cost of a wage bill that's spiralling in an upwards direction.
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The payroll was unwieldy before 49ers Enterprises arrived to take over the club and it has now been increased significantly with the addition of multiple players to the squad.
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Just one more thing to concentrate Russell Martin 's mind as he contemplates the arrival of Panathinaikos on Tuesday night for the first leg of their qualifying tie.
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Beware Greeks bearing gifts you don't want. Like elimination. It's turbo charge or depth charge for the new head coach.
The first one increases his team's power output in the event of an aggregate victory and instantly enhances Martin's reputation, even in the minds of the terminally sceptical.
The second one detonates and destroys all of Russell's early work and requires the mounting of a salvage operation minus the riches from Europe's biggest club competition to pay for it.
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How about that lot for day one on the job? There is nothing about Martin's professional or private life to suggest vulnerability in the face of adversity.
He confronted, and survived, the domestic difficulties of his childhood with a show of formidable fortitude.
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And he subsequently carved out a career in the game that was inspirational considering all that he had to overcome in order to make it at club and international level.
All of which qualifies Martin as a fascinating case study . Now, though, comes the first practical examination of his suitability for what lies ahead at Rangers.
The scale of what he is taking on in 48 hours' time is arguably an unfair burden to bear for the new head coach.
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I can't recall anyone in Russell's position at Ibrox – and I can go back to dealing with Willie Waddell in 1970 – ever having had to negotiate an occasion of this magnitude before he had even handled a domestic league match.
A European tie with a multi-million pound side stake and one that threatens to carry with it profound ramifications in the event of failing to win over two legs.
Martin has constructed a team in his own image in a remarkably short space of time. Now his judgment of a player comes under scrutiny.
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He also formulated a pre-season fixture schedule that has already brought criticism from fans who feel the team is undercooked for a match of Tuesday night's importance.
That formula will be used in evidence against him if anything goes wrong at Ibrox in midweek. There was the suggestion of an authoritarian streak when Martin revealed an unspecified breach of rules at Rangers ' training facility at St George's Park last week.
A misstep that made him run his players into submission, even though it was the day before a friendly match. Asserting your authority has to come with delivering positive results that justify the methodology.
'Respect, clarity and honesty, always,' he said afterwards.
One man being his own man is the way it has to be when the buck stops with you, I suppose.
And the buck has certainly been passed to Martin with knobs on.