Graeme Souness backs Russell Martin and is encouraged by Rangers' prospects

Graeme Souness believes Russell Martin did the right thing by “putting down a marker” for his Rangers players and is encouraged by what he’s seen under the new regime at Ibrox.

Martin blasted his players for showing the wrong attitude in their 1-1 draw with Motherwell on Saturday and then left captain James Tavernier and key midfielder Nicolas Raskin, among others, out of his side to face Viktoria Plzen in the crucial Champions League qualifier on Tuesday.

He saw the perfect response, with Rangers winning 3-0 and taking a major step towards the play-offs.

Souness was impressed with the performance of the team, particularly in the first half as they took control of the game and established a two-goal lead.

The Rangers icon felt Martin was right to have made it clear early on about the standards he expects, and drew a surprising comparison with legendary Celtic manager Jock Stein.

“It would be wrong to judge him (too early),” Souness said, while speaking at an event to promote Premier Sports’ coverage of the new Scottish football season.

“I know he was upset by the performance at the weekend and he’s put a marker down very quickly that this is not acceptable and that’s how it should be.

“And it was experienced players that he went after leaving the captain out.

“I liken it to when I was captain of Scotland and I worked under Jock Stein.

“Jock Stein would always pick out Kenny Dalglish and I. He left the younger guys alone and sort of made the point of ‘if I can get after them then I don’t need to speak to the younger ones’.

“That message has already got to them, so I think there’s nothing wrong with that.

“He’s said ‘this is my level and nothing other than my level is acceptable’.

“I think personally that’s a good thing.”

Rangers have only played four competitive games under Martin and Souness said that the team will still be bedding in and building their conditioning but believes the signs are there the team can deliver.

“You’ve had a hard pre-season,” he said. “You may have missed some training because of slight tweaks.

“Some players need six games to get up to speed. Some need eight and some need ten.

“So you’re looking at a version of Rangers right now that is not there in terms of fitness.

“I think it was very encouraging for the first 45 minutes last night.”

The former Ibrox boss is also encouraged by the early signs since the American takeover during the summer and believes under chairman Andrew Cavenagh, and with the involvement of 49ers Enterprises it’s just a case of “when” they deliver success.

“I think this is all about the bigger picture,” Souness said.

“The new owners, I think the noises and their actions are suggesting they know what they’re doing.

“I think the fact is this is not the first rodeo in terms of being involved in soccer and it’s not a case of will they get it right. It’s a case of when they get it right.

“You know, time is not your friend when you’re working at a big football club.

“When you work at a big football club, the expectation levels are enormous, and with that comes enormous pressures.

“But I think we’re in for a very exciting league this year. I’m keeping everything crossed that this is going to be a very, very good year for us.”