Russell Martin broke my heart but as a Rangers diehard this is how I think he'll fare at Ibrox

Daily Record

20 hours ago

Leeds United hero Stuart Dallas has swapped the pitch for the stands as he follows Gers across Europe
Stuart Dallas has Follow Followed Rangers across the continent.
And the former Leeds ace is convinced that with Russell Martin leading from the front, his Ibrox heroes are now heading back to the promised land.
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The retired Northern Ireland defender may be a legend at Elland Road but he grew up idolising the Light Blues.
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And since hanging up his boots last year, the 34-year-old has had plenty of spare time to join his big brother Marcus on foreign jaunts cheering on Gers in Europa League action.
He was among the thousands of jubilant fans who celebrated last term's memorable away wins over Nice and Fenerbahce and has been a regular at Ibrox too down the years.
Now Dallas can't wait to see how far Martin's new-look line-up can make it this season as they begin their Champions League quest with next month's multi-million-pound Panathinaikos clash.
Dallas witnessed just how difficult it is to put the breaks on Martin's high-risk passing philosophy himself when he was given a front-row seat during his final injury-hit season at Leeds.
He may not have been out on the pitch for the Lillywhites' fateful 2024 play-off final clash but he certainly felt for his team-mates as they were given the runaround by Martin's swashbuckling Southampton side on the day they clinched promotion to the Premier League with victory at Wembley.
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And he's vowed to be in among the Ibrox legions again this term as Martin's Rangers set out on the long road back to Uefa's top tournament.
'I think it's a great appointment,' he said. 'I was injured for the play-off final against Russell's Southampton team, but I've come up against his sides before. I'm a big fan of his.
'I know the appointment has caused a bit of divide in the fanbase because of how he fared in the Premier League.
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'But if you give him the right tools, he's a very, very talented manager.'
Russell's refusal to budge from his possession-heavy tactical plan cost him his job at St Mary's as Saints' lack of firepower was brutally exposed by their ruthless top-flight opponents.
But Dallas expects to see the new Light Blues boss stick to his guns again at Ibrox.
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He said: 'He has a clear style of play. He knows exactly what he wants.
'This thing about him not being able to adapt is based on the fact he didn't do so well in the Premier League.
'But the year that Southampton went up, they beat Leeds in the play-off final, in fact they beat Leeds three times that year.
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"He was able to change his shape and adapt to different situations. So I think it's a great appointment. I'm excited again to see how he gets on.
'People think it's just passing, passing, passing for no reason, but that is mentally draining a player if you're having to chase the ball.
'I get it. There's a fine line in passing the ball around and doing nothing with it, but Russell Martin knows how to break down a low block.
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'Ninety-five percent of the time in Scotland, you're going to come up against that, bar maybe when you're playing Celtic.
'He takes risks at the back, but with the high risk comes reward as well, doesn't it? I think it's good.
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'Obviously, he's going to need players. Of course, he has a squad that needs an upgrade but again, I'm very excited for how it's going to go.'
And Dallas is looking forward to taking in a few more European away days this season.
Recalling his recent trips with Gers, the Bluenose from Cookstown said: 'I went to Fenerbahce, I was a Nice as well. Sadly I wasn't in Seville. I was supposed to go to Bilbao, but I was on holiday.
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'But I've done Anfield, Old Trafford, a lot of away games.
'Obviously when you're playing, it's difficult to get up to games at Ibrox.
'But my brother's been a season ticket holder for years and all my pals are big Rangers fans. Going to more games with my brother was always something I said I'd do whenever I retired.
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'It's enjoyable going away. My first game at Ibrox was back in 2002. It was Rangers-Hearts.
'I went with my brother, my mum and my granny. My grandad brought me over to the game. Me and my brother went.
"I think we won 2-0. I would have liked to have been able to get more games throughout my career but it just doesn't work out that way.
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'I took my kids up to the Bilbao home game. I drove all the way up there for a 0-0 draw!
'But the penalty save that night was worth it. It will be great to see Rangers back competing on all fronts.
'They need to close that gap to Celtic.'