Norwich City’s Russell Martin is eager to sign a prolonged term with Rangers FC beyond the 2017/18 season. The 32-year-old was quoted, “I want to be here, despite this result, and there’s still a lot to play for. We have the Scottish Cup and we need to finish second in the league. It’s as simple as that. We need to try to haul the points back and I’m enjoying everything about being at the football club. I’ve made it known that I want to stay, so I’ll have to keep doing well enough to make sure that happens.”
Martin, who has racked up over 300 matches in his time with the Canaries, had been reduced to a sporadic player over concerns of recurring injuries. He was unsettled with the Championship side which eventually sparked the move to the Scottish Premiership.
A veteran who has the highest amount Premier League appearances in the Norwich squad needed an escape and has found exactly that at Ibrox Stadium.
The Rangers fans are pleased to see their side contending for the league title after winning promotion last year but on the other hand, will be disappointed to see Celtic win their seventh consecutive Scottish Premiership trophy.
Their 3-4 loss to the Hoops caused outrage among the Gers fans who were calling for the head of Murty. The lead at the top could have been diminished to just 3 with a win but after Alfred Morelos’ open miss in the dying minutes, it ended up costing the side’s title challenge severely.
Graeme Murty has exercised his best approach in management ever since he got appointed after the struggling Pedro Caixinha. Caixinha had tried to bring about a revolution with his approach and player signings at the Ibrox, but had failed with his approach and subsequently got fired.
Giving Murty the axe might not be the best decision right now and an improved 2018/19 campaign needs to be planned for with a host newly signed players. Having a player like Martin will definitely help in their future endeavours, especially after the solid performances he has delivered on his arrival.
Martin has 29 caps for Scotland and can play at right-back or centre-half. The experienced Scotsman has solidified the backline with Bruno Alves struggling to maintain his fitness for long spells. While their recent run of form has been poor, it would in their best interests to sign Martin to either a permanent contract or a second season-long loan spell.
