Nicolas Raskin can save Russell Martin from Rangers sack, here’s how
Russell Martin may be shooting himself in the foot by excluding Nicolas Raskin from the Rangers squad.
Hearts are set to travel to Ibrox on 13 September in the William Hill Premiership, but the Belgium international won’t be involved for the Gers.
Fenerbahce and Besiktas are expressing interest in Raskin, with the transfer window in Turkey coming to a close just before midnight local time on 12 September.
The Glaswegian outfit would do well to keep hold of the 24-year-old, and the Scottish manager could potentially reap the benefits if he stays, but on one condition.
Russell Martin must pick Rangers best eleven despite issues with Nicolas Raskin
Martin can’t let his apparent issues with Raskin come in the way of picking the best starting lineup at the Gers, Craig Moore says.
The Australian national believes there may be issues between the Scottish manager and the midfielder, but that shouldn’t impact team selection at Ibrox.
Moore feels the Belgian national is a player who could potentially save the former Southampton boss from getting sacked at the Light Blues after a poor start to the season.
Speaking on the Go Radio Football Show on 11 September, the ex-centre-back said: “There seems to have been problems between the two. Can that be smoothed over? For me, as a manager, you don’t need to love every single player; you need to pick the best players to go out and do the job for you, and Raskin is the type of player that could potentially save Martin.”
Read More: Martin must simply axe player who ‘looks like a bag of nerves’ vs Hearts
Hearts win at Ibrox should be end of Russell Martin
If Martin loses to Hearts at Ibrox and ends the Gers’ 19-game unbeaten run against them at home, then he should be sacked.
The Light Blues haven’t lost to the Jambos at home in 11 years, which arguably puts extra pressure on the Scottish manager to not drop further points in the league.
As things stand, the Glaswegian outfit are six points behind Derek McInnes’ team and Celtic, and a loss could leave them with a lot of catching up to do after just five matches.
| Matches | Wins | Draws | Losses |
| 11 | 3 | 5 | 3 |
Rangers may need to make special arrangements for Martin, as the Ibrox faithful will surely make their voices heard at the prospect of defeat against Hearts.
The Jambos are unbeaten in the league at the start of the season under McInnes, and it will certainly be a tough test for the Gers to face them.
It looks like the situation between Raskin and Martin is going to dominate headlines for the foreseeable future, and only time will tell whether a resolution can be found.
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