Nicolas Raskin rumour dismissed after Russell Martin ‘madness’ at Rangers
Nicolas Raskin capped off a heroic return as Rangers beat Hibernian in the Premier Sports Cup on Saturday.
The Belgium international got on the scoresheet as David Gray’s team were beaten at Ibrox on 20 September in the quarter-final of the competition.
Bojan Miovski also found the back of the net in the 2-0 win, setting up a juicy Old Firm derby in the semi-finals at Hampden on 1 November.
Speculation as to why Martin had kept Raskin out of the squad have been rife in recent weeks, but one suggestion has been completely dismissed.
Rangers team news not leaked by Nicolas Raskin
Rumours of Raskin leaking the Gers’ team news to the Club Brugge manager ahead of the Champions League play-off tie seem false, Keith Jackson says.
The Daily Record journalist has rubbished claims of the Belgian national hurting the Light Blues’ prospects against Nicky Hayen’s team.
Jackson believes the issue between the midfielder and Martin may stem from his tactics, particularly with Max Aarons initially playing as an inverted left-back.
Speaking on Hotline Live on 21 September, the journalist said: “And you’ve seen this rumour, and I don’t believe it for a second about Raskin leaking team news to the Brugge manager. That doesn’t fit with what I’m told about Raskin as a person.
“I couldn’t for the life of me understand why Raskin was getting shoved out to the left-hand side to allow Aarons to get on the ball and try to dominate the middle of the pitch. That was madness, and if I were Raskin, I would be asking questions about that.”
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Russell Martin can rely on Nicolas Raskin to save job at Ibrox
Raskin is capable of saving Martin’s job at Ibrox, and the 24-year-old proved against Hibernian that he can be a key player if played in the correct position.
The midfielder’s role in the team has been experimented with at the Gers this season, leading to some overall poor performances from the Gers.
Martin has tried multiple partnerships in the middle of the park, but he may be playing players out of position.
- Raskin made 48 appearances for the Gers last season.
- The midfielder was left out against Celtic and Hearts.
- The Glaswegian outfit won their first match after five games by beating Hibernian.
For example, Joe Rothwell has been used in the number six position at Rangers, but he arguably played his best football at Leeds United in the previous campaign as a box-to-box midfielder.
Hopefully, the Scottish manager has learnt from his mistakes at the Light Blues and will continue playing Raskin in his preferred role.
It may be too little too late for the former Southampton boss to save his job at Ibrox, but fans just want to see them get back to winning ways, and Raskin’s presence will certainly help do that.
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