Rangers' latest new era begins: foe they want to meet again, 'pointless passes' and guy you want to work for

Another Rangers new era begins on Sunday when supporters get their first glimpse of what to expect from a Russell Martin team.

Club Brugge are in town for a pre-season friendly at Ibrox - the first public 90 minutes since Martin was announced as head coach last month. He will be the fifth different manager in the past five years to preside over a pre-season at Rangers.

Under new ownership following the takeover from an American consortium spearheaded by health insurance tycoon Andrew Cavenagh and 49ers Enterprises, this is more of a reset than a fresh start for the Govan club. Martin will desperately hope to have the longevity that Rangers’ last truly successful boss in Steven Gerrard had, rather than the fleeting stints of Giovanni van Bronckhorst, Michael Beale and his immediate predecessor Philippe Clement.

Three new Rangers signings Joe Rothwell, Max Aarons and Emmanuel Fernandez pose for pictures at Auchenhowie. | SNS Group

This weekend’s match against Belgian side Club Brugge will be a stiff test. They reached the knock-out rounds of the Champions League last season and narrowly lost out on the Jupiler League title to Union Saint-Gilloise. Like Rangers, they have qualifiers for Europe’s premier event to navigate this summer, but enter a round later and could even face the Scottish side in the play-off round.

Getting that far would be a success for Martin’s fledgling reign as Rangers boss, as it would mean overcoming Panathinaikos over two legs later this month and then a further opponent. The tie against Greek foes is no foregone conclusion for a team that staggered over the finishing line last term amid a sea of uncertainty under interim head coach Barry Ferguson.

Facing Club Brugge and next week’s training camp at St George’s Park will tune up Rangers and get them more accustomed to the way Martin wants to play. His possession-based style has been well-documented and the players have been back at their Auchenhowie training base for more than a week now, no doubt working on systems and strategies.

Rangers’ transfer business so far

New recruits have arrived too. Lyall Cameron of Dundee agreed a pre-contract deal before Martin was in the building and he’s been joined by right-back Max Aarons and midfielder Joe Rothwell, both from Bournemouth, while Peterborough defender Emmanuel Fernandez has also come in. More will follow, and the aforementioned quartet should all be involved on Sunday.

It was hard not to think back to the summer of 2023, when Beale oversaw an overhaul of the Rangers squad. While foreigners such as Sam Lammers and Cyriel Dessers came in, Rangers also raided the English market by bringing in men such as Jack Butland, Dujon Sterling and Kieran Dowell. Under new sporting director Kevin Thelwell, they are once again shopping south.

Former Manchester United youngster Rothwell, now an experienced 30-year-old midfielder who played under Martin at Southampton, penned a three-year deal with Rangers earlier this week. Interestingly, he nearly signed for the club in 2022, instead opting to join Bournemouth from Blackburn Rovers.

Rangers train ahead of Sunday's match against Club Brugge. | SNS Group

“Just before I signed for Bournemouth, it was kind of a toss-up between the two and yeah, obviously I decided to go to Bournemouth at the time,” recalled Rothwell. “But I’m thankful that the offer came back around this time and I jumped straight at it.

“I think selfishly I always had in my head, once when I left United as a kid, my plan was always to try and get back and play in the Premier League. So they [Bournemouth] gave me the opportunity to do that and it was something that I couldn't turn down at the time.

“Obviously there was a little bit of interest there before the manager [Martin] got the job, but as soon as I found out that he was getting it, he gave me a phone call and I was like, ‘Yeah, I'll be there, straight there’."

Martin ‘is a guy you want to work for’

Martin’s excellent reputation as a coach and a man-manager clearly helps when it comes to new recruits. “I think he just sees the game how I would like to, if I was a manager, that's how I would like to play the game,” explained Rothwell. “So, that was the main pull, but I've said it before, it's more what he is as a guy that you want to come and work for him, not just the stuff he does on the pitch.

“He's a possession-based manager. From the outside, it looks like he's just playing pointless passes, but when you're actually inside it, you understand every pass that you make is kind of key. So as long as we understand that as a team and the lads buy into it, then I'm sure they'll fully enjoy playing that style of play.”

Russell Martin oversees a Rangers training session on Friday. | SNS Group

Rothwell is expected to become a key figure in Martin’s Rangers XI. Years of experience in English football should rub off on some of his more callow teammates and he has a fresh success story to tell, a big part of the Leeds United side that won the 2024/25 English Championship during his season-long loan spell at Elland Road.

Asked what type of player he is, Rothwell said: “I think it just varies on what type of manager you play under. I think when Tony [Mowbray] signed me [at Blackburn], I was raw. I just kind of got the ball and tried to dribble with it at every opportunity and in that league at the time, it was really effective. And when he signed me, I managed to do that as well in the Championship.

“So, last season we [Leeds] had a lot of possession, so it was more a case of getting on the ball and starting attacks. But don't get me wrong, I still found time to get the ball and run with it, so it's something that I'm keen to bring here as well. I want to do both sides of it.”

Rangers supporters will no doubt look forward to watching Rothwell and others over the new few weeks. A fanbase craving trophies, they are desperate for Martin to be a success. Some clues on how the new head coach intends to deliver it will be on show on Sunday.