Russell Martin to hold Thomas Frank talks after ‘unkind’ Mikey Moore developments at Ibrox
Russell Martin has placed a great deal of faith in young players this season.
Rangers signed 14 players in the summer transfer window, with Kevin Thelwell spearheading the recruitment of several young, inexperienced players.
Martin is facing intense pressure already due to his inability to get several players playing to the best of their ability.
Developments at Ibrox have led to Martin holding potential talks with Tottenham manager Thomas Frank over the latest on Mikey Moore in Govan.
Russell Martin’s over-reliance on Mikey Moore could boil down to Tottenham agreement
Mikey Moore’s performances have been poor for Rangers, and he was named on the bench in Sunday’s 2-1 win versus Livingston.
The young winger came into the action in the 82nd minute and helped secure all three points.
Speaking on the Daily Record Hotline Live on 29 September, however, Keith Jackson believes that Martin’s treatment of Moore has been irresponsible.
He said: “I felt it was quite unkind to throw Moore into the firing line; he’s been clearly struggling with it.
“There could be something stipulated in the loan contract that if he’s fit, he must get game time, but I think that’s a conversation you would have manager-to-manager.
“If that was stipulated in the contract, Frank would be in complete agreement; he’s there to improve, not to go into his shell.”
The 18-year-old has struggled to adapt to life in Govan, despite Martin putting an enormous amount of faith in him.
- Moore has made eight appearances for Rangers, with five of them being starts
- He’s been criticised heavily for some of his performances, particularly his display against Celtic
- Martin will now place more faith in other options
Whilst an agreement over game time as part of Moore’s loan move from Spurs is possible, it seems unlikely Frank would put that onus on Martin.
Regardless, Martin will now look to be prudent with Moore’s minutes, with Oliver Antman the likely beneficiary.
Russell Martin set to put faith in Oliver Antman
Antman is another new arrival at Rangers, having joined from Dutch side Go Ahead Eagles.
Whilst he has been restricted to appearances off the bench, he has had one or two impressive cameos.
Antman was excellent against Viktoria Plzen in August and provided a brilliant assist for James Tavernier’s opener against Livingston.
Whilst he still seems raw, his goalscoring record in the Netherlands shows that he clearly has the ability to perform for Rangers.
It’s up to Martin to build back his confidence, and if he does so, then the Bears will have an extremely exciting right-winger on their hands.
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