I played alongside Russell Martin at Rangers - here's what he will bring to Ibrox as head coach

Russell Martin’s time as a player with Rangers was a brief as it was forgettable, spending half a season on loan at Ibrox in 2018 towards the end of his playing career.

Having made over 300 first team appearances for Norwich City he was allowed to leave Carrow Road that January and spent the second half of the campaign in Glasgow. The Gers’ did not pick up any silverware that season but Martin was a regular in the team after his arrival, making 17 appearances and scoring one goal in a 2-0 victory over Hearts.

He has short spells at Walsall and MK Dons after that before hanging up his boots in 2019 to take over as head coach at the Stadium MK. Although he maybe didn’t leave much of an impression from his first spell at Rangers, he certainly demonstrated to one Rangers hero that he was likely headed for a career in football management.

Rangers hero Kenny Miller on playing with Russell Martin and what he expects from coaching style

Former Rangers striker Kenny Miller, speaking in partnership with Canada Crypto Casino, recalled his time playing alongside Martin at Ibrox. He believes the new Gers’ head coach will bring a very clear style of play to the Glasgow side.

He said: “Russell came for a few months in the second half of the season, on loan. It was a tough time to come into the club. I’ve played with Russell at international level as well. He was capped for Scotland a number of times as well. We played together quite a bit there, but at Rangers he came at a tough time. He played in that game we lost 4-0 to Celtic.

“You could always see him going on to be a coach, that’s for sure. The way he looked at the game, he was very thoughtful, and he was a good player as well as a good head coach.

“The one thing that’s been really clear with him is his style. It was clear for MK Dons, for Swansea and for Southampton. I’m assuming he’ll want to maintain that. But I think that’s probably part of the reason he got the job at Rangers, the fact that there’s a clear way that he has his teams play.

“There’s a new ownership group at the club that obviously believe that his way is a way that can deliver them success. It won’t be easy. There’s a lot of work that needs to be done to that squad. But then again, he’ll be fully aware of that. And he’ll want to make sure his style can translate to the players that are going to stay and the players that are going to arrive. And then, can that turn into delivering trophies?

“Rangers prefer to play with a lot of the ball and that will suit Russell and his style. He will be up against a good Celtic team, though, and a very good head coach in Brendan Rodgers. So, it’ll be a really interesting season. People talk about aiming to close the gap to Celtic, but ultimately of course, the aim is to win the league. Steven Gerrard managed to do it in his third season, and it was a monumental one because it stopped Celtic getting 10 in a row.

“Celtic are of course the driving force right now in the country, and have been for a number of years. How to turn that tide will be part of Russell’s job while still focusing on getting Rangers playing the way he wants them to play.”

Your next Rangers read: Tottenham icon tips Rangers linked star for Leeds United move as 'not a priority' claim made