Rangers are finalising a deal to appoint Russell Martin as their new head coach, the PA news agency understands.
The 39-year-old former Southampton boss will be installed in the Ibrox hotseat in the next 48 hours, barring any last-minute hitches.
The appointment of a new man at the helm is the latest in a series of major changes at the club.
An American consortium led by Andrew Cavenagh and 49ers Enterprises secured a majority shareholding on Friday and new sporting director Kevin Thelwell officially began work on Monday, when he said that the recruitment of a new head coach would come to a conclusion “in the coming days”.
Outgoing Real Madrid assistant manager Davide Ancelotti, son of Carlo Ancelotti, and Martin were the two frontrunners for the post, vacated by Philippe Clement in February, with former Rangers captain Barry Ferguson taking over to the end of the season, which ended trophyless.
However, it is the former MK Dons and Swansea boss, who had a short loan spell as a player at Rangers in 2018, who will be tasked with wrestling the power back from the other side of the city where Celtic this season won their 13th William Hill Premiership title in 14 seasons and have a stranglehold on Scottish football.
However, many Rangers fans have revealed some dismay at the notion of Martin’s arrival.
The former Scotland international brought Southampton up to the Premier League through the play-offs in 2024 but was sacked in December as they headed back towards the Championship with one win from their first 16 games.
Chris Hughton, Martin’s boss at Norwich, offered a glowing character reference, saying on talkSPORT: “If I’m looking at Russell’s managerial background, he is known of course, for playing a certain way, very expansive in the way that he wants to play, very much a passing game and progression through the thirds.
“But he’s a strong personality also. He’s had a few knockbacks in his football career so far.
“I think any knockbacks, he will look at very much as experience and look to improve in every aspect that he can. I saw him recently, and he was in good form and really looking forward to getting back into the game.
“I think he’s had a few offers. So this is somebody that’s still very respected in the game, and of course, the rollercoaster in management, there are always going to be ups and downs, but he’s a very confident individual and very confident in what he wants to do on the football pitch.
“He was very much a leader in the changing room, vocal in the meetings that we had and, of course, he was my voice when it came to any sort of direction on the players.
“So no surprise to me that he eventually went into management. He always showed those characteristics. And he was somebody that, as he improved in his career as a player, is of course very much looking to improve the same way in management.”
