Russell Martin declares Rangers transfer certainty and says how many done deals he wants before Panathinaikos
The new Ibrox boss has been addressing a number of issues ahead of the squad’s return to pre-season training next week
Russell Martin has remained tight-lipped on Cyriel Dessers’ future at Rangers after it was reported the striker has agreed a lucrative deal with AEK Athens.
Both clubs are still negotiating a fee for the Nigerian international, who finished last season as the Ibrox club’s top scorer with 29 goals across all competitions. However, sources close to the Rangers Review question whether the Greek Super League giants are able to match the 30-year-old value.
New head coach Martin declared the “bulk of the work” being carried out behind the scenes in Govan has been centered around their summer recruitment drive ahead of the squad reporting back for pre-season training on Monday.
How many signings Russell Martin wants before Panathinaikos tie
The former Southampton boss also revealed he hopes to have “a few” new signings on board in the coming weeks before Rangers take on Panathinaikos in a massive Champions League qualifier at the end of July.
Former Dundee midfielder Lyall Cameron remains the only new signing in the door at present, with the Light Blues also understood to be working on deals for the likes of Kwame Poku (Peterborough United), Max Aarons (AFC Bournemouth) and Conor Coady (Leicester City).
Speaking to Sky Sports on the prospect of potential new additions, Martin said: “I don’t know (exact numbers), but I think we’ll have a few before the European game, that’s for sure. Everyone is working extremely hard.
“That’s what the bulk of the work has been the last week or so, identifying character and talent we want in the building that can add to this group and add to us culturally and performance-wise as well. I’m excited about the people we are starting to look at and hopefully will add.”
Cyriel Dessers expected to be back for pre-season amid speculation over future
Asked for an update on Dessers’ situation, he said: “The updates will come when they are actually real. At the minute I’m expecting Cyriel to return on Monday and looking forward to working with him.”
Martin has endured a hectic start to life in Glasgow as Rangers boss, admitting: “It’s been everything I thought it would be: intense, great. But the real work starts on Monday - every manager and coach loves being on the grass and I’m really excited about it.
“(The) Panathinaikos (game) is incredibly exciting, it’s going to be an amazing atmosphere at Ibrox. People have said to me it’s maybe the most difficult tie we could’ve got but if we want to compete in Europe, we’re going to have to beat some really good teams.
“We’ll be ready. We know what we’re working towards now, so we can have a good look at them but the work’s going to be about us, and making sure in the next three to four weeks the players understand what it’s going to take and they’re open to learning.
“The priority is to work the players physically and tactically to get them to understand what we are demanding early on and what the team is going to look like. And also hopefully to add a few players to the group , I think we are all expecting that. It’s exciting and we get the international players back a week later so we have a good bit of time to work with them.”
The first Old Firm derby of the season with Celtic and kick-off time was revealed as part of the SPFL’s fixture release this morning. Reacting to the August 31st clash, Martin said: “I’m not sure it matters when you play them (Celtic). We expected it to be early, it usually is, but we have a lot of games to focus on before then and a lot of work to do before then but they are exciting games, special games.”