Russell Martin: Rangers appoint former Southampton head coach

Russell Martin is Rangers’ new head coach, with the former Southampton boss signing a three-year contract at the start of a fresh era at Ibrox.

A US-based consortium, led by Andrew Cavenagh and including the investment arm of the San Francisco 49ers, completed a takeover of the club last week.

Martin emerged as the leading candidate from a recruitment process that also included former Real Madrid assistant Davide Ancelotti and former Rangers manager Steven Gerrard.

Rangers say the 39-year-old…

The former Scotland defender lost his job at St Mary’s in December, after just one win from 16 in the Premier League.

He had taken Southampton up to the English top flight via the play-offs in the previous campaign.

However, after his side struggled with the step up to the Premier League, Martin attracted criticism for sticking with a possession-based approach before losing his job.

Before that, he had spells in charge at MK Dons and Swansea City.

Martin’s role is head coach rather than manager, a nod to Rangers’ new set up with former sporting director Kevin Thelwell in post alongside his former Everton colleague, Dan Purdy, as technical director.

Rangers finished last season without a trophy and were runners-up to Celtic in the Scottish Premiership for the fourth successive year.

Phillippe Clement was sacked in February before former captain Barry Ferguson took over as interim boss until the end of the season, as Rangers finished 17 points off the pace.

Martin, who played 29 times for Scotland and 17 times for Rangers during a loan spell in 2018, now has the task of making the club more competitive amid a busy summer.