Russell Martin offered this Alex Ferguson advice after calamitous Rangers start
Russell Martin is still facing a crisis at Rangers after a dismal start to his tenure, which has seen fans protest against his management.
Rangers’ win over Hibernian has bought Martin some more time, despite the entire fanbase’s eagerness to see him dismissed after just over three months in charge.
With Rangers winless in the league, attention will now turn to the Europa League, and Martin will face another under-pressure manager in Genk boss Thorsten Fink.
Alex McLeish managed both clubs in his glittering career, and the Rangers icon has now offered Martin some advice after what he learned from legendary figure Sir Alex Ferguson.
Alex McLeish calls on Russell Martin to follow Alex Ferguson advice
McLeish played under the legendary Sir Alex Ferguson at Aberdeen in his playing days, and clearly learned a lot from his old manager.
Rangers won three titles and five cups under McLeish’s management, while they are yet to win five games under Martin.
Martin’s brand of football has caused frustration, opting for a slower, possession-dominant tactic which sees Rangers play out from the back, but McLeish has told him to abandon this.
Speaking to Belgian outlet Het Belang van Limburg, McLeish revealed how Ferguson shaped his footballing philosophy, and encouraged Martin to heed the same advice with regard to his tactics.
| Stat | Russell Martin |
| Matches | 13 |
| Wins | 4 |
| Draws | 5 |
| Losses | 4 |
| Goals | 17 |
| Conceded | 19 |
| Points per game | 1.31 |
| League position | 11th |
“The supporters want a spectacle. I’m afraid the squad isn’t good enough for that. Certainly not for the way Russell Martin wants to play,” he stated.
“He swears by a passing game, which starts with his own goalkeeper. Like Pep Guardiola, only he has hundreds of millions at his disposal to assemble a suitable squad.
“I’m afraid the current approach isn’t realistic. I once had a manager at Aberdeen. A certain Sir Alex Ferguson.
“He always said: ‘You can take risks, but only in the last third of the pitch.’ And you did your best to stick to that. The most important thing in football is creating speed. But for that, you need quality.”
Russell Martin needs to change approach
Martin’s tactics so far have been a failure, with his side looking undercoached, and few players are responding well to his instructions.
Rangers have been woeful going forward this season, and keeping the ball in the defensive third has not helped, compared to a more direct approach which was successful under Steven Gerrard.
Some of Rangers’ defenders have been error-prone, and both Nasser Djiga and John Souttar are being asked to perform a role they are not capable of doing, by making them play with the ball more.
A different approach, or a different manager, could get a lot more out of this Rangers squad, and Martin’s stubbornness over his tactics could be his downfall.
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