Most Rangers fans are likely to hate Ibrox Noise for this entry, but it’s one we felt we had to make. As the majority of fans will be aware, we were ardent opposers to the appointment of Russell Martin. We knew categorically he was the wrong one and we never supported him for a second. We received abuse from the moment his name first surfaced in March 2025 until he was finally sacked around September of the same year. He was, of course, the worst manager Rangers have ever had. Ibrox Noise saw that coming a mile off. If you don’t believe the level of opposition we made check the above links out. We called it and we got abuse all year from Rangers ‘fans’ for it, but that is just the way it Rohls.
Russell Martin belongs in the EFL
However, the curiosity of this article is that we’re actually going to be slightly positive about him. Not, of course, about his time at Rangers, but about his prospective time at Leicester City. With John Souttar likely moving to Leicester to join his old gaffer down in League One, we have an entirely different perspective. The digs from Rangers fans about how Russell Martin is going to do in England contrast with what we’re about to offer.
His record speaks for itself
Because, of course, Russell Martin is an EFL slop manager. That is his level. If we recall, MK Dons and Swansea did decent under him. He got them solid midtable. Then, at Southampton, he outright shone in the Championship. Promotion was next. No one is going to tell us that, logically speaking, Russell Martin cannot manage Leicester City in League One. He may just get them promoted.
While fans of the clubs he has managed tend to take digs at him once he leaves, there is no question that Martin’s record in the lower bowels of English football is decent. We might not like hearing that. We might not even believe it. However, the facts are the facts, whatever you think. He was solid with both League One teams he managed. Then he moved on to Southampton and shone with them in the Championship. He won, of course, that playoff final. That was his work.
Rangers was simply too much
Of course, once he got to the Premier League with Southampton, he was totally out of his depth. He wasn’t good enough for that level. At Rangers, once again, he wasn’t up to the races at all. It was too big for him. However, take him down a notch. Take him to League One or even the Championship. Russell Martin has proven time and time again that he is strong enough for that competition.
John Souttar is said to be rejoining Martin at Leicester. Martin will be decent there. John Souttar is wise enough to know that he is moving to a club that might not be anywhere near as big as Rangers. It is not in anywhere near as big a division per se as the Premiership, but that is another debate entirely. However, he will know that this manager has done decent to good at that level. It gives Souttar a change in his own career. Whatever has occurred at Ibrox to change the picture of Souttar’s residence at Rangers has led to him moving on. He could not honestly be going anywhere better for himself.
Promotion is the expectation
Leicester are a big club. Obviously, they were Premier League champions 8 years ago. They obviously are not at that level anymore. However, Martin has every chance of taking them back up to the Championship. If he does that, we suspect the ridicule around him will start to look a bit silly. It will continue. We know fine well there will be accusations against everything Leicester achieve under Martin. However, we can project they will do pretty well under him. Promotion? At the very least, they will be strong at that level.
So yes, whether or not you like Martin, and the chances are you do not, we certainly do not. Whatever we think of him, he will not stink at Leicester. Probably.