The legendary skipper heard Martin’s evisceration of his players at Motherwell and then witnessed a better performance in the Champions League qualifier
06:00, 08 Aug 2025Updated 07:08, 08 Aug 2025
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Ask yourself a question. How do you like to be treated?
Do you enjoy trying to second guess what people actually expect from you? Or, like me, do you prefer being told straight and to your face?
It’s always been my belief that honesty is the best policy. That’s how I was brought up and it stood me well throughout my career in football.
And it’s why I was so pleased to hear Russell Martin telling it how it is after watching Rangers drop two points in their opening game of the season at Motherwell.
Some people winced when they heard his pull-no-punches assessment of the way his players had performed. There was even a suggestion that he had ‘gone too early’ and that, by speaking from the heart, he might have created a divide between himself and the dressing room.
I couldn’t disagree more.
In my experience, it’s always best to level with people so that everyone knows exactly where they stand. And I’m not just talking about getting the message across to the players – I’m more concerned with the people who matter most of all. The fans.
The ones who travel to give you their support in vast numbers. Week in week out. The same supporters who went away from Fir Park on Saturday night feeling let down and disappointed all over again.
They knew what they had just watched because they’ve seen it too many times before. The last thing they wanted to hear after watching the first two points of the season slip away was a manager attempting to sugar coat it or trying to fool them into thinking black is actually white.
So let’s just say I enjoyed listening to what Russell said afterwards in his post match interviews a whole lot more than I enjoyed watching the way the team played, especially in that second half.
It was refreshing. It was brutally honest. And it was absolutely spot on.
There was no attempt to tip-toe around about what everyone had clearly seen with their own eyes. It wasn’t good enough, he wasn’t happy and he wanted everyone to know that it simply won’t be accepted from this point on.
Good on him – I said some of the same things myself during my short time in charge towards the end of last season – because no manager should ever accept seeing the opposition run more and work harder than his own layers. And especially not the manager of Rangers.
I liked it. He was strong, open and honest and, as soon as he had spoken, it was a question of what the reaction was going to look like the next time his team stepped out on the pitch.
Well, on Tuesday night we got the answer I fully expected when Rangers ran all over the top of Viktoria Plzen to take a 3-0 lead into the second leg of their Champions League qualifier.
I don’t want to focus on what was said and done during last season. But what I will say is, I think these players responded well to a bit of plain speaking and honesty.
And that was the case again on Sunday and Monday.
Of course they were going to be up for the game on Tuesday. But it’s important that they realise they should be up for every game when they pull on that shirt. They are playing for Glasgow Rangers.
Russell Martin congratulates Cyriel Dessers(Image: SNS Group)
And that’s the message the manager has clearly spelled out for them.
He made two huge decisions in leaving James Tavernier and Nico Raskin out of his starting XI. Let me be very clear on this, I have a lot of respect for both of these guys. They are excellent football players and, more importantly, thoroughly good people.
So it will have been really tough for the manager to have to tell them his decision.
But Russell Martin is showing already that he is not afraid to do what he thinks is best for the team and I have massive respect for that.
He’ll not be happy that his selection was out there on the internet hours before kick-off as that will have given the Czechs time to adjust their own plans and that’s something that concerned me last season too.
These leaks happen too often these days and not just at Rangers. We tried our best to find out where the info was coming from but, honestly? It was like trying to find a needle in a haystack.
All I would say is it’s disappointing. I don’t know why anyone would want to make sensitive team news public. It’s completely baffling.
The good news is, it didn’t make any difference to the level of the performance.
Yes, I admit Plzen weren’t great. But Rangers had to beat what was in front of them and the way they went about it was very impressive.
Obviously the two wide boys – Oliver Antman and Djeidi – caught the eye on both flanks. The speed and width and end product they have added to that team makes them absolute stand outs and I’m excited to see them push on from such a promising start.
Remember, Mikey Moore is about to be added to the mix and that young boy hasn’t come on loan from Spurs to sit on the bench. So the manager has genuine quality to choose from in those crucial areas of the pitch and that bodes well for the future.
But also, let’s not underestimate the contributions of two other players on Tuesday – Lyall Cameron and Cyriel Dessers.
Cameron has had to be patient over the first couple of weeks of the season but he made a statement with his first start in a Rangers jersey and I was delighted for him. He may have gone under the radar in terms of the recent signings but, trust me, that young man could have a big impact on this team going forward.
And as for big Cyriel, I keep telling people he’s a far better striker than most people realise and he was absolutely outstanding in the way he led the line.
Tav and Nico also responded in the perfect way when they came on in the second half. Both of them looked sharp and bursting to help the team. And that’s exactly what the manager will have been hoping to see.
From this point on, everyone knows the boundaries because Russell Martin has set them out in no uncertain terms.
He has strong options in all areas of the pitch and these players must now realise they’ll be stuck in the stand if they fall below his demands.
The best thing is they can’t say they weren’t warned. And that’s why the manager was absolutely right to give them nothing but honesty.