Who Should Replace Russell Martin At Rangers?
Kai Watson 
Some Rangers fans have been demanding it since August and the humiliation in Brugge but the club's board finally saw some sense and sacked Russell Martin after a dismal start to the season.
In seven domestic fixtures Rangers have won one, lost one and drawn FIVE including a brutal performance in a 1-1 draw away to Falkirk on Sunday.
Next Rangers manager odds are now available at UK betting sites, with several high-profile candidates already listed.
Here at Free Bets, Kai Watson has taken a closer look at three potential replacements for Martin.
In total, Martin was in charge of 17 competitive matches over his four month tenure, won five, drawn six and lost six with a win rate of 29.41% and a goal difference of -3. Even ignoring the results, the performances were awful, the defence was unorganised, there wasn’t any type of creativity in attack and chance creation was a massive struggle.
Even looking at the Europa League League Phase matches so far, in previous years these were fixtures that fans would’ve expected victories in. Even though the red card made the Genk game difficult, the away side probably should have been two or three goals up before that happened. Then it was two absolutely embarrassing goals defensively that led to a 2-1 defeat in Graz which leaves Rangers 32nd out of 36 teams at this stage.
Enough of the now former manager and how dismal Rangers start to the season has been, who should replace him? Fans are rightly concerned about the current regime selecting a new manager after getting the Martin selection so horribly wrong. The first thing fans would probably want to avoid is shopping in the same market that Martin and most of the first team signings came from in and around the English Championship.
That being said, Danny Röhl, formerly of Sheffield Wednesday appears to be one of the front runners for the job with the 49ers group apparently big fans of the young German manager. He’s been a free agent since leaving Wednesday in the summer due to the issues that are currently ongoing there and this job would be a massive step up in expectation.
Let's take a closer look at the 36-year-old, as well as two additional likely candidates for the Ibrox hot seat.
Danny Röhl
Age: 36
Nationality: German
Last Club: Sheffield Wednesday
Preferred Formation: 4231
Win rate: 38% (34W/19D/36L)
PPG: 1.36
Trophies: None
The lack of experience is a massive concern for me, he did lead Sheffield Wednesday to a mid-table finish last season when they were expected to struggle but going from that, to be expected to win every week is really a massive jump. Here’s some numbers from his team last season;
Goals Scored - 7th
Big Chances Created - 5th
Goals Conceded - 21st
Clean Sheets - 20th
Possession - 15th
Accurate Passes - 16th
He clearly knows what he’s doing in forward areas and that’s where they excelled which is an area Rangers are currently struggling in so I can see the appeal there. That being said, defensively they were poor and you can say that’s down to the quality of player but it’s up to the manager to be able to organise a defensive set up that suits the players to be able to keep goals out.
That’s something that Rangers have also been struggling with and, for the most part, successful, title-winning teams are built on a solid foundation from the back. I’m currently unsure if that’s something that Danny Röhl is capable of and he is, in my opinion, more of a project manager which the club can’t afford right now.
Kevin Muscat
Age: 52
Nationality: Australian
Current Club: Shanghai Port
Preferred Formation: 4231
Win rate: 53% (215W/81D/113L)
PPG: 1.78
Trophies: 2x A-League
1x FFA Cup
1x J1League
1x Japanese Super Cup
1x Chinese Super League
1x Chinese FA Cup
A lot of the fans would pick Muscat and it’s easy to see why. Titles in three different countries and a style that was so successful for his mentor Ange Postecoglu. He’s potentially the easiest fit because, as previously mentioned, he learned under Ange Postecoglu and his style was so successful for Celtic and Muscat plays exactly the same way.
Fans have wanted aggressive, high-pressing, attacking football and that’s what they were promised under Martin by the people in charge of that decision. However, Muscat winning titles in three different countries, being the first to win league titles in Australia, China and Japan, shows an adaptability and a know-how when it comes to creating a winning formula.
His side currently sit at the top of the Chinese Super League but there’s still some games left to go so would he leave at this stage or would the Rangers board be willing to wait for him?
Steven Gerrard
Age: 45
Nationality: English
Last Club: Al-Ettifaq
Preferred Formation: 433
Win rate: 55% (174W/70D/75L)
PPG: 1.86
Trophies: 1x Scottish Premiership
Why Steven Gerrard? Well, he gave Rangers fans one of the best domestic seasons ever, unfortunately that was during COVID and fans couldn’t get in to see the brilliant football that Rangers were playing during the 20-21 season. Rangers won 32 and drew six as they ended the season unbeaten and only conceding 13 goals in 38 games, ending with a goal difference of +79 and 102 total points.
However, Rangers really should have won the treble that season with St. Johnstone winning the League and Scottish Cups and that was Gerrard’s only trophy in his time at the club. He also left for Aston Villa whilst the team seemed to be on a decline and playing worse football than the season before but the warning signs were there.
Gerrard asked to be backed in the summer after winning the league when he now famously spoke about ‘fixing the roof while the sun is still shining’. That didn’t happen and Rangers have been on the decline ever since. Would he be welcomed back by the fans? Would he bring Michael Beale with him?
Everything is up in the air and it’s potentially the perfect time to get a manager in and give them the international break to get their ideas drilled in at the club and to the players that aren’t on international duty.
These three seem the most likely currently but are there any other names you’d like to see mentioned?
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