Russell Martin lets Premiership rival inside Rangers revamp as Zoom call sparks hope for pause on 'success'
Stephen O'Donnell was given the inside track on Russell Martin's new Rangers style from the man himself over a zoom call.
But the Motherwell star is praying it falls flat on the opening day of the season.
Gers kick off their 2025/26 Premiership campaign at Fir Park on Saturday August 2, just three days after what cold be a decisive Champions League second round qualifying second leg against Panathianaikos in Athens.
As part of his UEFA B coaching licence course, O'Donnell listened to Martin talk about his playing approach and was impressed, telling eager fans that they could be in for some exciting times at Ibrox this season.
But he'll be doing his best to ensure a miserable curtain raiser for the Light Blues in North Lanarkshire.
"I was on a Zoom call with Russell Martin talking about the B licence and I thought he spoke very well," he said.
"When you're talking about learning things from managers, he's got a style of pay which I'll be very interested to see how it plays out with Rangers.
"I could be really successful - I hope it's not successful against us in a couple of weeks' time!
"But I think it could be successful for Rangers players and fans and hopefully after the first game of the season, he has lot's of success."
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Glasgow Times
16 minutes ago
- Glasgow Times
Russell Martin's Rangers criticism came from ‘love and care'
The Gers boss hit out following the William Hill Premiership opener at Fir Park, questioning mentality, speaking about 'egos' and accusing some of 'self-preservation'. Martin was speaking again at the club's training ground ahead of the first leg of the Champions League third qualifier against Czech side Viktoria Plzen at Ibrox on Tuesday night, where a play-off tie against Austrian outfit Salzburg or Club Brugge of Belgium awaits the winners. 'I think if they know us by now as a group of coaches that it all comes from a place of love and care for them,' said the Gers boss, who replied 'hopefully he will be in it, we will wait and see', when asked if new signing Oliver Antman, the Finland winger who joined from Go Ahead Eagles on Monday, will be included in the squad. 'We are here, myself, Gilly (Matt Gill, assistant), the coaches, ultimately for the players. 🎙️ Russell Martin spoke to the media ahead of Tuesday's match against Viktoria Plzeň. — Rangers Football Club (@RangersFC) August 4, 2025 'We're here to win football matches, but as coaches day to day, we are here to help the players. 'That's our job, to help them win, to help them develop, to help them improve and understand why, to help them enjoy playing for a club like this, because I don't think too many of them have enjoyed it enough to play for this amazing football club, because it's not always easy. 'I don't come out and say that because I want to be ruthless and all that stuff. 'If they know me as a person, the people who do know me, they know it comes from a place of love and to help them and to want them to be better. 'So I think when it comes from that place, whatever is said and if they understand that, then we'll always have a really honest and good conversation about it. 'I hope they understand who we are by now and what we're here to do, and I really believe they're really trying. 'So they're good people, but the default to try and protect yourself when it gets tough, we need to just shed that a little bit.' ✍️ We are today delighted to announce the signing of Finnish international Oliver Antman on a four-year-deal. — Rangers Football Club (@RangersFC) August 4, 2025 Martin confirmed that Thelo Aasgaard and Hamza Igamane will again miss out through fitness issues while it is not clear if Mikey Moore, the 17-year-old attacker who has signed on loan from Tottenham, will receive international clearance in time to be part of the squad. On the task facing his side, Martin said: 'The game is going to be tough. 'They are really powerful, really strong, play forward quickly, run forward quickly. 'It's a really different test to the Panathinaikos one and it is a really interesting and exciting one for us. 'They have strength in certain areas, but we have to try and turn the game, especially at Ibrox, into the game that we want, move the ball quickly, better than we did the other day. 'We have to really be up for the fight against these guys but I am looking forward to it.'
Glasgow Times
16 minutes ago
- Glasgow Times
Russell Martin's post-Motherwell Rangers criticism came from ‘love and care'
The Gers boss hit out following the William Hill Premiership opener at Fir Park, questioning mentality, speaking about 'egos' and accusing some of 'self-preservation'. Martin was speaking again at the club's training ground ahead of the first leg of the Champions League third qualifier against Czech side Viktoria Plzen at Ibrox on Tuesday night, where a play-off tie against Austrian outfit Salzburg or Club Brugge of Belgium awaits the winners. 'I think if they know us by now as a group of coaches that it all comes from a place of love and care for them,' said the Gers boss, who replied 'hopefully he will be in it, we will wait and see', when asked if new signing Oliver Antman, the Finland winger who joined from Go Ahead Eagles on Monday, will be included in the squad. 'We are here, myself, Gilly (Matt Gill, assistant), the coaches, ultimately for the players. 🎙️ Russell Martin spoke to the media ahead of Tuesday's match against Viktoria Plzeň. — Rangers Football Club (@RangersFC) August 4, 2025 'We're here to win football matches, but as coaches day to day, we are here to help the players. 'That's our job, to help them win, to help them develop, to help them improve and understand why, to help them enjoy playing for a club like this, because I don't think too many of them have enjoyed it enough to play for this amazing football club, because it's not always easy. 'I don't come out and say that because I want to be ruthless and all that stuff. 'If they know me as a person, the people who do know me, they know it comes from a place of love and to help them and to want them to be better. 'So I think when it comes from that place, whatever is said and if they understand that, then we'll always have a really honest and good conversation about it. 'I hope they understand who we are by now and what we're here to do, and I really believe they're really trying. 'So they're good people, but the default to try and protect yourself when it gets tough, we need to just shed that a little bit.' ✍️ We are today delighted to announce the signing of Finnish international Oliver Antman on a four-year-deal. — Rangers Football Club (@RangersFC) August 4, 2025 Martin confirmed that Thelo Aasgaard and Hamza Igamane will again miss out through fitness issues while it is not clear if Mikey Moore, the 17-year-old attacker who has signed on loan from Tottenham, will receive international clearance in time to be part of the squad. On the task facing his side, Martin said: 'The game is going to be tough. 'They are really powerful, really strong, play forward quickly, run forward quickly. 'It's a really different test to the Panathinaikos one and it is a really interesting and exciting one for us. 'They have strength in certain areas, but we have to try and turn the game, especially at Ibrox, into the game that we want, move the ball quickly, better than we did the other day. 'We have to really be up for the fight against these guys but I am looking forward to it.'
Times
31 minutes ago
- Times
Russell Martin warns Rangers players: ‘Get with the programme or get out'
Russell Martin has no concerns about his Rangers players reacting negatively to his weekend lambasting of their collective mentality. The new Ibrox head coach unloaded on his men for a perceived lack of effort and desire in the 1-1 draw with Motherwell and expects a response in Tuesday night's Champions League third qualifying round, first leg tie at home to Viktoria Plzen. Insisting that his remarks came from 'a place of love', Martin said that if they caused players to retreat further into their shells, it would tell him something fundamental about their character. 'If it has a detrimental effect on certain individuals, then they're probably not the ones we want to come on the journey with us,' the former Southampton manager acknowledged. 'If it has a detrimental effect on you and it hurts you to the point where you feel singled out, then there's probably an issue with you being all-in at this place and this club and with us. So I don't have any worry about it being detrimental on the team. Whenever I've questioned any of our teams in the past about attitude, the response has been fantastic. 'I've not said one thing addressing them and then told you [the media] another thing. They've heard exactly what I've said to you guys in addressing them. So I guess this is where you learn a lot about people. And I'm really comfortable because I know where it comes from. It's not a concerted effort to out anyone or to try to beat someone. 'I'm going to be honest with everyone. They've served us well so far. I'm pretty sure they'll serve us well again and we'll be really successful. We just have to get through some teething problems.' Some supporters and pundits have questioned the wisdom of Martin going so hard so early with his new charges, having only overseen three games thus far. But the 39-year-old maintains that he will always be true to his principles in how he deals with his players as well as how he sets them up on the pitch. 'It's not a choice that we only sometimes need to [be honest] and sometimes not. That's how I feel in life in general and in my job. It's how I've been for six years with the players. There's been a couple of times when I've done it at previous clubs and never had to do it again. 'I'm just always going to be honest with the players and the supporters. I'm not here to play any games and be political and all that. I'm in a job that demands certain things and when we fall short of that there's just no point in hiding behind stuff. The fundamental problem on Saturday was not knowledge, it was not ability, it was attitude. I wasn't emotional on Saturday, it was exactly what I said to the players. 'This football club and the supporters will demand certain things that are not acceptable and certain things that they have to be shown every single minute you're on the pitch. It's the same old stuff I said from day one, which is fight, willingness to run, to help each other out. 'It is hard to play for this club, it's not for everyone, it's not easy. You have to be a really resilient and strong person. The self-preservation stuff I spoke about happens throughout football. It's really difficult when you're having tough moments and you slip back into trying to protect yourself, but actually that doesn't help. So I have empathy for players when it gets tough, but it's always got back to being really horrible and hard to play against. We weren't hard enough to play against on Saturday, so that's what it came down to. There's no point in sugarcoating it, the players know what to expect. 'We have a lot to improve and work on. But the stuff to improve needs to be technical, tactical. While we're building and changing so much, the things that we need to work on can't be mentality. It has to be the rest of it, the detail, the technical stuff, the tactical stuff. Let's build it on the basis of a really strong mentality wherever we go. That has to be the bottom line.' Mentality has long been considered a problem under a succession of Rangers managers, and while Martin has threatened to 'leave behind' those who cannot or will not shape up on this front, it is unclear how this might be possible in the context of a bloated squad. In the same post-match address at Fir Park, Martin said that only Cyriel Dessers had attracted a bid or serious interest so far this summer. 'There's plenty of time before the end of the window. I'm pretty sure all the players in here want to be part of something. And if, at the end of it, they don't want to be here, I don't want to force anyone to be at the football club. And it's up to their agents to find the right people for them and for us. 'We need to create better habits throughout the whole team, throughout the whole club. And habits that we can actually rely on when times get tough. Rather than the whole piece falling apart and imploding and all of that stuff. Which I think is, when I speak to the staff and the players, what's happened before. So we have to create better habits, a better foundation of performance. Some principles that are non-negotiable all the time.' Martin expects a 'tough' examination from Plzen, who reached the last 16 of last season's Europa League and effected a spectacular turnaround in the second leg of their most recent top-tier qualifier against Servette [winning 3-1 in Switzerland]. 'They're really, really powerful, really strong. Play forward quickly, run forward quickly. It's a really different test than the Panathinaikos one. They have real strength in certain areas, but we have to try to turn the game, especially at Ibrox, into the game that we want. Move the ball quickly, better than we did the other day. But we have to really be up for the fight against these guys because they're really strong, they're together and they're a powerful team.' Please enable cookies and other technologies to view this content. You can update your cookies preferences any time using privacy manager. Thelo Aasgaard and Hamza Igamane will again miss out as they recover from minor injuries, while work was ongoing on Monday evening to add the new signings Oliver Antman (the Finland winger who has joined from Go Ahead Eagles for around £4m) and Mikey Moore to the Champions League squad ahead of the 11pm deadline. ● Celtic have been drawn to face either Kairat Almaty or Slovan Bratislava in the Uefa Champions League play-off round, with the winners progressing to the league phase and a bounty in excess of £40million. The first leg will take place at Celtic Park on August 19 or 20, with the Scottish champions hitting the road the following week. Should Russell Martin's team see off Viktoria Plzen, they will face RB Salzburg or Club Brugge in the play-offs. Rangers would be at home in the first leg of that tie too. In the Europa League play-offs, Aberdeen will play either Romanian side FCSB — formerly Steaua Bucharest — or Kosovan club Drita. If Hibernian beat Partizan Belgrade in the third qualifying round of the Conference League they will face Cypriots AEK Larnaca or Legia Warsaw of Poland. Likewise, should Dundee United get past Rapid Vienna they will meet AIK Stockholm of Sweden or Hungarians ETO FC Gyor in the same competition. Rangers v Viktoria PlzenChampions League qualifying, third round, first legIbrox, 7.45pmRadio (not selected for TV coverage) BBC Radio Scotland
