Glasgow Rangers are still on the lookout for their new head coach after Barry Ferguson moved on from Ibrox at the end of his interim spell in charge.
Investor Andrew Cavenagh is reportedly set to arrive in Glasgow to help conduct the search, alongside CEO Patrick Stewart and sporting director Kevin Thelwell.
The Gers chiefs ‘grilled’ Ferguson before removing him from contention to land the job on a full-time basis, after he failed to do enough to convince the board that he is the right man for the role moving forward.
Appointed as interim head coach in February after Philippe Clement was dismissed, the former Scotland international only won six of his 15 matches in charge of the Light Blues, drawing 2-2 with Hibernian on the final day.
Rangers are now looking at external options to fill the head coach position, and it was reported earlier this week that they are due to hold talks with former Southampton manager Russell Martin.
Despite the former Scotland international being in line for the Leicester City job, the Light Blues are keen to meet with him to talk about the Ibrox posting.
Why Russell Martin would be a good appointment
Russell Martin may not be a name that sparks much excitement in the fanbase. Not only did he have a dismal loan spell at Ibrox back in 2018, but he also endured a horrendous season in the Premier League with Southampton.
The 39-year-old head coach won one game and picked up just five points in 16 top-flight matches in the first half of the current campaign, setting them on their way to relegation from the division.
However, Southampton ended the season with two wins and 12 points from 38 matches, which suggests that the players were more of a problem than Martin, as they did not improve under different coaches.
It was the English-born tactician’s style of play in the Championship, when he had players who were good enough to compete at the top of the league, that suggests that he could be a good appointment for Rangers.
Pass accuracy
87.7%
1st
Passes into the penalty area
594
1st
Progressive passes
2556
1st
Shot-creating actions
1255
1st
xG
79.8
2nd
Points per game
1.89
4th
As you can see in the table above, Martin delivered an exciting, progressive, and attacking style in the second tier of English football, as shown by their passing and chance-creation statistics, and he led them to promotion via the play-offs.
This suggests that he would be well-suited to helping Rangers to compete for the title in the Scottish Premiership, with a superior squad to most of the division.
However, his Premier League form does cast doubt over his ability to deliver success on the European stage, against better teams, which is why it may be a good thing that the Gers are reportedly still looking at another English coach.
Rangers have made contact with English manager
According to the Daily Mail, out-of-work manager Steven Gerrard is still in the running to make a return to Ibrox ahead of the 2025/26 campaign.
The report claims that while talk has cooled over a move for the English tactician, he is not out of the running to land the job ahead of the likes of Martin and Davide Ancelotti.
It states that initial contact was made with the former Aston Villa head coach’s representatives last week, as he remains in contention for the job.
The Daily Mail reveals that Cavenagh wants to meet the candidates face to face, including Ancelotti and Martin, but it is unclear as to whether or not Gerrard will have a face-to-face meeting with him after the initial contact last week.
With this information in mind, Rangers could land an even better appointment than Martin by swooping for the former Ibrox boss in the coming days.
Why Rangers should appoint Steven Gerrard
As aforementioned, there are plenty of pros and cons to the appointment of the former Southampton head coach, because of the stark contrast in form between the Championship and the Premier League.
It would be a bit of a gamble for the Gers, as they could get the disastrous top-flight performances or the electric second tier success, if they decided to go ahead with a move for Martin.
Whereas Gerrard is a known quantity. He has already managed the club and has achieved success at Ibrox, which means that the tactician would arrive in Glasgow with experience to lean on and a reputation that would command respect from others.
The 4-3-3 manager, of course, won the Scottish Premiership title with Rangers in the 2020/21 campaign, an achievement no other coach at Ibrox in the last decade has managed, before or after him.
He also left the Gers at the top of the Premiership table after 12 games before he moved to Aston Villa in the 2021/22 season, but Giovanni van Bronckhorst was unable to see out the job.
Matches
2
21
30
Wins
0
14
12
Draws
0
7
10
Losses
2
0
8
Points per game
0
2.33
1.53
As you can see in the table above, Gerrard also had a solid record in Europe for the Light Blues, losing just eight of his 51 Europa League games, including qualifiers.
This suggests that the English boss, whose reputation was described as “amazing” by former England defender Glen Johnson, would be an even better hire than Martin because of his ability to manage at the top level against better sides.
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Throw in the fact that Gerrard has already proven that he can win the Premiership with the Gers and it appears to be clear that the board should pick him over Martin if it came down to a choice between the two of them, due to his superior experience and pedigree.
