“This is what you’re judged on.”
Russell Martin is excited about Rangers’ Scottish Premiership campaign, accepting that is where success or failure lies for the head coach and his players.
They kick off their new season at Motherwell on Saturday, live on Sky Sports, just days after securing progression to the third qualifying round of the Champions League.
Saturday 2nd August 5:00pm
Kick off 5:30pm
“To get through such a tough draw [vs Panathinaikos], over two legs, was really pleasing,” he told Sky Sports News.
“We did some really good stuff in it, some stuff we really need to improve on. I think that’s the most exciting bit.
There’s been so much change and we’re navigating a lot of change at this football club, everyone is, and the staff and the players are really doing well with that.
“To manage that is not always easy, so we’re trying to win while building and developing. We have so much to work on and so much to go in terms of performance and what we’re looking like.”
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Martin talks about ‘special talent’ Mikey Moore after the 17-year-old winger moved to Rangers on loan from Spurs
Martin has added eight new signings since taking charge in the summer as he looks to lead a title challenge against Old Firm rivals Celtic.
“We’ve had five weeks that have been hectic with pre-season and then two massive games to prepare for and now we have to focus everything on this because this is what you’re judged on, the success of a season,” he added.
“We have to try and start as well as we possibly can.”
Martin played with Motherwell boss Jens Berthel Askou at Norwich
It will also be a Scottish Premiership debut for Martin’s former Norwich team-mate Jens Berthel Askou, who is now in charge at Fir Park.
“He messaged me to congratulate me on Wednesday night, which was nice of him and he’s a good guy,” the former Scotland defender added.
“I look forward to catching up with him and I hope he does really well after tomorrow!”
What lies ahead for Martin and Rangers?
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Sky Sports’ Kris Boyd believes new Rangers head coach Russell Martin will need time to succeed at Ibrox
Sky Sports’ Kris Boyd assessed how much patience the new man in charge be afforded by the Rangers support.
“It is going to take time and that is the modern way, and there are good players at Rangers,” said Boyd.
“In Scotland, we listen to the majority of fans saying, ‘oh, my team doesn’t have a style of play. We don’t do this. We don’t do that.’
“Russell Martin will come in and implement a style of play.
“You can’t on one hand say, ‘oh, we don’t have a style of play’. Then you’ve got a style of play now and you’re going to moan about it.
“I think it might be different, and it might take time for Rangers fans to actually adapt to what is going on.
New Rangers signing Djeidi Gassama (centre) scored in both legs against Panathinaikos
“As soon as you become the manager of Rangers or Celtic, you’re always going to be under pressure.
“Everybody thinks they’re better than you, everybody will sit here and criticise, but the reality is he’s a manager of one of the biggest clubs in the world.
“You want that first Old Firm game at home. Rangers have got that, and they’ve got three games before that.
“They’ll need to take maximum points going into that game. If they can do that, go to Ibrox, it’s a full house, ask a question of Celtic, then you never know.
“But the flip side of that is, if you don’t get nine points from your opening three games, and Celtic do, you’re under pressure right at the start.”
Rangers fixtures: Motherwell opener live on Sky Sports
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Kris Boyd and Chris Sutton make their predictions for the 2025/26 Scottish Premiership title
Rangers will kick off their 2025/26 Scottish Premiership season at Motherwell on Saturday August 2, live on Sky Sports.
It will be new head coach Martin’s first league game in charge since being appointed in the summer, and will come just days after their Champions League second-qualifying-round clash against Panathinaikos.
His first Scottish Premiership game at Ibrox will take place on Saturday August 9 against Steven Pressley’s Dundee.
The first Old Firm of the season takes place on Sunday August 31 live on Sky Sports as Celtic travel to Ibrox, a fixture that could be key as Martin’s side look to close the gap on their city rivals this season.
The sides will meet again at Celtic Park on Wednesday January 3 – live on Sky Sports – with their final pre-split meeting at Ibrox on February 28.
Elsewhere, their first match against Derek McInnes’ Hearts comes on Saturday September 13 at Ibrox, while Rangers face the two newly-promoted clubs on consecutive weeks with a trip to Livingston on Saturday September 27, before travelling to Falkirk on October 4.
Rangers head to Easter Road – where they ended the last campaign – to face Hibernian on Wednesday October 29, while the first match against Aberdeen follows that on November 1 at Ibrox.
With no winter break this season, Rangers face six games in December – however, there are no games on Boxing Day. Instead, Martin’s side head to Hearts on Saturday December 20 and then host Motherwell on Saturday December 27 at Ibrox.
Rangers’ final pre-split fixture takes place on April 11 at Falkirk, with the league campaign concluding on the weekend of May 16/17 and the play-off final bringing a curtain down on proceedings on May 21 and 24.
