Kris Boyd pleads with Russell Martin to be two-faced with Rangers star after Ibrox scenes
Rangers progressed to the semi-finals of the Premier Sports Cup following their 2-0 victory over Hibernian on Saturday.
Russell Martin could be on the verge of being sacked as Rangers sit 11th in the Scottish Premiership and are yet to win a league game.
13 new faces have come through the door this summer, with the squad undergoing a massive overhaul as Martin has struggled to build a good relationship with every single player in the squad.
However, Kris Boyd offered firm words of advice to Martin about how he should deal with issues within his squad already at Ibrox.
Russell Martin must act two-faced towards Nico Raskin
Nicolas Raskin ran the show for Rangers against Hibs, scoring the opener and being heavily involved in the second goal.
Raskin and Martin’s relationship had broken down over the last month, yet discussions this week led to the Belgian midfielder being reintroduced into the squad.
Speaking on the Go Ballistic podcast on 22 September, Boyd gave Martin advice on how to manage Raskin in the best way.
He said: “It doesn’t matter if you’re a football manager, a leader, or an owner of a big business, you’ve got to have more faces than Big Ben.
“You won’t get on with everyone, which is just a fact, and elite managers will have everybody believing that they like everyone in the dressing room.”
Raskin won the Rangers’ Player of the Year award last season and is clearly the most talented player in the squad.
| Season | Appearances | Goals | Assists |
| 2022/23 | 16 | 0 | 2 |
| 2023/24 | 31 | 1 | 1 |
| 2024/25 | 48 | 5 | 11 |
| 2025/26 | 9 | 0 | 0 |
Boyd also highlighted the fact that just because their personalities may clash, they both still depend on each other at the moment.
“Martin needs Raskin to win games of football, and Raskin needs Martin to make the World Cup squad with Belgium,” he added.
“They both need to use each other to get to where they want to get to.”
Having been left out of the last two matchday squads, Raskin came back with a point to prove, and his man-of-the-match performance may have just kept Martin in the Rangers job.
This is not a shock to Rangers fans, who have pleaded with Martin to use Raskin as the Bears continued to struggle in his absence.
- Read more: Youssef Chermiti shares what £42m star told him about Russell Martin before Rangers transfer
Nico Raskin’s return spells trouble for Connor Barron
Raskin’s return to action has everyone at Rangers delighted, yet Connor Barron could be forgiven for feeling a bit downbeat.
The 23-year-old had started both games that Raskin was left out for, and was one of Rangers’ best performers on both days.
Martin was even booed for substituting Barron versus Hearts, with the midfielder’s industrious performance in the centre of the park not going unnoticed by the Ibrox faithful.
Much like Raskin, Rangers refused to let Barron leave in the summer following interest from Bologna.
With game time now looking limited under Martin, Barron’s career could start to plateau while he’s at the Light Blues, but Raskin simply has to start.
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