Russell Martin can’t make Rangers mistake after latest team news vs Genk
Russell Martin needs more than a win at Rangers against Genk in the Europa League on Thursday.
The Gers manager has made some significant decisions at the Gers since taking over, one of them being dropping Nicolas Raskin from the squad at Ibrox for reasons that aren’t entirely clear.
Martin arguably needs to beat Genk on 25 September if he doesn’t want the noise around his future to get loud again.
The Scottish manager seemingly learnt from his past failures by playing Raskin in the number six role, but that may have been down to a lack of personnel in the position.
Joe Rothwell returns to Rangers squad vs Genk
Joe Rothwell is set to return to the Gers’ squad as Genk travel to G51 in the first game of the Europa League’s group stage.
The former Leeds United midfielder has been relied on at Ibrox this season, primarily playing as the defensive pivot under the new management.
Martin has arguably been playing Rothwell in an unorthodox position, probably because he feels the Englishman has got the legs to cover defensive duties effectively.
The midfield trio of Raskin, Mohamed Diomade and Thelo Aasgaard impressed against Hibs, and the former Southampton boss shouldn’t tweak with it as the Glaswegian outfit welcome the Belgian club.
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Nicolas Raskin can be decisive at Ibrox for Russell Martin
Raskin is the sort of player who can save Martin from getting sacked, and it’s good to see the two resolve whatever possible issue there was between them.
With the Belgian national dropped from the squad against Celtic and Hearts, the Light Blues arguably put in two of their worst performances of the season, barring the loss to Club Brugge in the Champions League play-off.
The Scottish manager needs to implement an idea that yields consistent results for fans in G51 to secure their long-term backing, and the 24-year-old midfielder should be a key part of that.
- Martin has a 30 per cent win rate at the Gers.
- The Light Blues were knocked out of the Champions League by Brugge after their joint-worst defeat.
- Under the Scottish manager, the Glaswegian outfit have conceded 19 goals.
Andrew Cavenagh is entirely behind Martin at Rangers, and it looks like the American owners are willing to go through a patchy period together.
If the ex-Saints boss can’t live up to expectations in the coming weeks, the US consortium’s decision to stick by him could potentially backfire.
As things stand, the Scottish manager must take things game by game and ensure that results and performances improve.
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