Graeme Souness hopes Rangers transfer tactic straight out his playbook works a treat in Russell Martin backing
The Rangers icon has been looking ahead to the new season at Ibrox.
Graeme Souness hopes Russell Martin’s Rangers transfer approach can pay dividends - as the new head coach goes down a route just like he did when in the hotseat.
The popular former player-boss has been talking all things Ibrox with the new season kicking off. Rangers drew 1-1 on the Premiership’s opening day at Motherwell, sparking fierce criticism from head coach Russell Martin, which the team responded to with a 3-0 victory over Viktoria Plzen in the first leg of Champions League third round qualifying.
With sporting director Kevin Thelwell behind him, Rangers have undergone a mainly UK-based recruitment drive. Only Oliver Antman has arrived from outside the UK, not including Oscar Cortes’ loan from Lens being made permanent, making it nine new players overall so far this summer outside that deal. It’s similar to what club legend Souness did and he is fully onboard with Martin using that strategy, having managed down south at MK Dons, Swansea City and Southampton.
Graeme Souness on Rangers transfer strategy
He said: “I did the exact same thing. If Russell's choosing the players, his knowledge is of English football as it was for me. I spent the vast majority of my playing days in England. That was the players I knew better than anywhere else. Hopefully it's a formula that works for him as well.”
Souness was impressed by the authority Martin showed in his post match interview at Motherwell, followed up by dropping captain James Tavernier plus key midfielder Nico Raskin against Plzen, drawing comparisons to legendary Celtic manager Jock Stein. He said: “It would be wrong to judge him (too early). I know he was upset by the performance at the weekend and he’s put a marker down very quickly that this is not acceptable and that’s how it should be.
“And it was experienced players that he went after leaving the captain out. I liken it to when I was captain of Scotland and I worked under Jock Stein. Jock Stein would always pick out Kenny Dalglish and I. He left the younger guys alone and sort of made the point of ‘if I can get after them then I don’t need to speak to the younger ones’.
Rangers manager in Jock Stein comparison
“That message has already got to them, so I think there’s nothing wrong with that. He’s said ‘this is my level and nothing other than my level is acceptable’. I think personally that’s a good thing.
You’ve had a hard pre-season. You may have missed some training because of slight tweaks. Some players need six games to get up to speed. Some need eight and some need ten. So you’re looking at a version of Rangers right now that is not there in terms of fitness. I think it was very encouraging for the first 45 minutes on Tuesday night.”
Graeme Souness was promoting Premier Sports’ coverage of Scottish football including over 80 matches from the Scottish Premiership, Premier Sports Cup, Scottish Cup and KDM Evolution Trophy. Fans can watch an entire season of football for only £99 using promo code PSCUP25.