Russell Martin unveiled as Rangers boss

The Scotsman

Mark Atkinson reports from Ibrox after Rangers’ unveiling of Russell Martin as head coach.

Transcript

00:01Good afternoon from Ibrox Stadium. Mark Atkinson, Head of Sport for the Scotsman here.

00:06Just been taking in the press conference to unveil Russell Martin as Rangers' new head coach.

00:12He was speaking alongside Sporting Director Kevin Thelwell and Chief Outfit Patrick Stewart.

00:18Pretty big day here at Rangers. It's been a pretty big week.

00:21New owners after the takeover from Andrew Cavanaugh and the 49ers Consortium.

00:25Then Thelwell's arrival on Monday, swiftly followed by Russell Martin, the head coach,

00:30ending a three-month hunt for a new successor to Philippe Clermont.

00:36Patrick Stewart, the CEO, did joke that it had taken its time,

00:39but he also said that there was method in how they'd done things.

00:42They wanted to make sure they got this one absolutely spot on.

00:45There's no doubt that the new regime here at Rangers feel that Martin,

00:50a 39-year-old former Scotland and, briefly, Rangers defender,

00:53is the right person to take them on and bridge the gap with Celtic and, ultimately, bring success.

00:59Russell Martin said the job is fairly simple.

01:02You have to win at Rangers. You have to win football matches.

01:05He's confident he can produce a winning team here.

01:08He admitted that there's not that much time to get it right.

01:11He said they'll have to find a way to win while transitioning the culture of this club.

01:16But he's a head coach of a clear identity. He's done good work in the past at MK Dons, at Swansea, at Southampton,

01:24which is where he likened the challenge to Rangers, saying that there was an expectation in St Mary's to win

01:29when he got them promoted to the Premier League two campaigns ago.

01:33He's a good speaker, Martin. He held his own very well amidst a barrage of questions.

01:37There was also talk about recruitment. Of course, Rangers have got a £20 million investment, or near enough that,

01:43from their new owners coming in.

01:45And while it's expected that Rangers will be active in the transfer window,

01:48Martin stressed that every single player has a blank canvas and a chance to prove that they can fit into his style of football.

01:56There are some Rangers fans who aren't happy with the appointment of Martin.

01:59They feel that they should have got a different type of manager.

02:01Martin admitted that he is not universally popular, but said it's his job to make sure he turns those sceptics around.

02:08Stuart and Thelwell, they're convinced they've got the right person in here.

02:12There's been so many names linked with the job. Davide Ancelotti, Steven Gerrard, right at the very beginning as well.

02:19There's been a number of candidates. They were pretty adamant that the only person that was offered the job was Russell Martin.

02:27The Rangers have got a lot of work to do. They start their Champions League qualifiers in mid-July.

02:33They've got three rounds to get to the promised land of European football.

02:36It would be a top order for them, but the work does start for them.

02:39Martin knows that he's going to have to get to know his players very quickly and find a way of getting results.

02:44It's a massive challenge. He accepted that, the one that he's very much looking forward to.

02:48And he referenced his time here as a player before where it wasn't all plain sailing.

02:52He was on the end of some serious old-firm defeats while a centre-half in the 2017-2018 campaign.

02:58And he said that he always wanted to come back here and try and show a different side of himself.

03:03A new era, a new regime here at Ibrox, where Russell Martin is the new manager and the work for him starts in earnest.

03:10Perhaps.

03:11.

03:12.

03:13.

03:18.

03:19.

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03:21.

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