The man to end Celtic's domestic dominance? Russell Martin appointed new Rangers manager

On Thursday Rangers confirmed that Russell Martin had been confirmed as the club’s new head coach, with the former Southampton manager agreeing to a three-year deal with the Ibrox club. Martin had been without a club since departing the Saints in December of last year but now takes over the role at his former club, having played for the Scottish Premiership side in a brief loan spell in 2018. Martin is the Glasgow side’s first managerial appointment since a US-based consortium, including the investment arm of the San Francisco 49ers, took over a 51% stake in the club in late May. 

"It is a privilege to be named head coach of Rangers Football Club at the beginning of this exciting new chapter,” said Martin in a club statement. "I know what this club demands. From my time here, I had a taste of how special this club is, the expectation, the passion and the history. Now, as I return, I’m determined to bring success back, for the supporters, the players, and everyone inside this club. There’s a lot to be done, but the goal is clear: win matches, win trophies, and give Rangers fans a team that they can be proud of. We want to play with bravery, to take the ball, to be aggressive, and to stand up in the big moments. Preparations for pre-season are already underway. I look forward to meeting the players and building a squad that our fans can believe in.” 

How good is Russell Martin’s managerial record?

At 39 years of age, Martin is still a relatively young manager but that hasn’t stopped him from quickly making a name for himself in British football. His managerial career began at MK Dons, where he took over after retiring as a player and helped the club stabilise in League One by playing an impressive form of possession-based football. Over the course of his time at the club, Martin managed 1.38 points per game for the English side - which in hindsight is seen as an impressive feat, considering the club’s slide back into League Two in recent years. Martin then repeated the trick at his next club, when he took over at a Swansea side still reeling from the departure of Steve Cooper and helped the Welsh side retain their status as a mid-table club in the English Championship. Although he wasn’t able to reach the same heights as his predecessor, a 15th-placed finish in his first season was then followed by a 10th-placed finish in his second. 

However, Martin’s crowning achievement as a manager was undoubtedly what came next, when Southampton turned to the young coach following their relegation from the Premier League in 2023. To the surprise of most, not only did Martin get the Saints promoted in their first season back in the English second tier, but he did so by playing exciting, attacking football which ultimately helped them beat Leeds United in the promotion play-offs. Unfortunately, that attacking style of football met its match in the Premier League this season, with the Saints winning just one of their 16 league games before Martin departed the club, the former Scotland international is still well-regarded for his preferred style of play. Which may work far better at a club like Rangers in the Scottish Premiership than at a relative minnow in the Premier League. 

 

Can Martin help Rangers catch Celtic?

As Martin said himself in his statement on Thursday: “There’s a lot of work to be done.” And it remains to be seen whether the club’s new custodians and their preferred choice as manager can break away from the turmoil that has engulfed Rangers in recent years. The Ibrox club have more or less rocked from one failed managerial appointment to the next since Steven Gerrard won the club’s first league title in 10 years back in 2021, with no less than three appointed head coaches and one interim trying their best to match the former Liverpool captain’s success since he departed in November 2021. In that time Rangers have gone back and forth on a number of formations, playing styles and transfer policies, which has left the club’s squad full of underperforming stars that will likely be sold in the summer. 

As such, Rangers’ overall squad market value stands at just €80.9 million - which is an incredible €50.5m short of Celtic’s squad market value. And while other things certainly factor into the success of a title-winning squad, that gulf in market value goes someway to explaining the big difference in fortunes between the two Glasgow giants in recent years. As the graphic above shows, Gerrard’s title-winning team had to break the 100-point mark to get the better of Celtic, with the English manager averaging an impressive 2.68 points per game in the Scottish top-flight that season. To date, Martin’s highest average in a domestic league competition stands at 2.33, when his Southampton side finished fourth in the Championship. If he can replicate that form at Rangers he’d certainly be doing better than his predecessor, Philippe Clement, but it remains to be seen whether it will be enough to catch Celtic and deem his time at Ibrox a success.