Rangers may have been moments away from hiring next Russell Martin – Here’s why
Rangers fans still have nightmares over Russell Martin, over a week after he was sacked.
Martin was given his marching orders at Ibrox on 5 October, after requiring a police escort to leave Falkirk following yet another drab draw.
That 1-1 stalemate left the Bears eighth in the Scottish Premiership for the October international break, somehow only collecting one victory.
Martin stuck to his principles and refused to budge, regardless of consistently bad results and performances that were thrown his way.
Rangers nearly failed to learn, though, and could have hired his European counterpart.
Who will be Rangers’ next manager?
Danny Rohl is the current frontrunner for the role, although the Rangers boardroom is divided.
Another intriguing option has emerged, with Bo Svensson contacted over possibly moving forward in the process and a failed spell at Union Berlin.
Florian Plettenberg has reported that the Dane was considered behind Steven Gerrard, but he decided against moving forward with the opportunity.
Kevin Muscat has also been mentioned at Rangers, but Svensson was the left-field choice that may have been preferred if successful with first contact.
The 46-year-old would have been the next Martin, so a huge sigh of relief is needed.
Read more: Sheffield journalist ‘flabbergasted’ at what he’s heard about Danny Rohl at Rangers
Who is Bo Svensson?
Svensson has spent the majority of his career in Germany, managing Mainz and Union Berlin.
In his latest role in the German capital, he only lasted for 16 matches, fewer than Martin managed at Ibrox, but in a longer time period.
There were striking similarities, with the Dane too stubborn in his tactics and failing to win from 21 October to 21 December in 2024 before being sacked.
Looking at the Sofascore graphic above, Union Berlin conceded more goals per game than they scored, similar to Martin, as well as only kept five clean sheets.
Losing 50 per cent of your games is somewhat impressive at a side that recently tasted Champions League football, but Martin was even worse in the Scottish Premiership.
Despite both having a points-per-game average of above 1.3 before their latest jobs, both left below that marker and being sacked – the omens were there.
Svensson turning the interest away is a blessing in disguise; let’s hope it stays that way.
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