Alex McLeish: Rangers need to get recruitment right to help Russell Martin

Former Rangers manager Alex McLeish believes the Ibrox club need to get their recruitment right this summer to give new manager Russell Martin the best possible start.

The American takeover of the club was quickly followed by the appointment of Martin, who has managed MK Dons, Swansea City and Southampton in the past, and the new owners believe he is the man to help take the team to trophies and domestic success as well as progress in Europe.

McLeish, who won seven major trophies including a table in his time as Rangers manager, says the takeover “can only be good” for his former club and has created real positivity around Ibrox.

But he says that with the squad needing rebuilt, there’s no time to waste and after “languishing” in recent years, “it’s time to pull their socks up and get to as high a level as they can against the big rivals Celtic”.

He told STV: “It’s good to see Russell Martin in the job. Russell’s been here for a small period of time but he will absolutely know what it’s all about and get it.

“The demand from the fans is very, very high and it’s probably one of about 20 clubs in the world where you have to win every week.”

Fan reaction to Martin’s appointment has been less than positive in some quarters, with his sacking after Southampton suffered in the Premier League last year being a reason that some fans would have preferred another candidate.

McLeish says his players simply weren’t as good as those in multi-million pound squads at opposition clubs and it was proof that a coach is limited without adequate signings.

“I think Russell has got a good personality,” he said. “I think he’s a confident guy.

“I don’t think anyone gave them a chance at Southampton. As we saw, it was a very tough job with the players not being at as high a level as others. That’s what happens, you’re not as high as everyone else then you are going to be in trouble.

“It doesn’t matter how great a coach anybody in the world is, if you’ve not got the quality to get above the others then the guy can’t get his own techniques [across].

“So in terms of recruitment, it really is a high priority at every club in the world now.

“Sometimes I feel that in the past few years, Rangers have got that part wrong.”

Personal experience tells the former Rangers boss that a quick turnaround can still achieve positive results.

“I experienced a period as well when there was a mass exodus,” he said. “Arthur Numan quit, Barry Ferguson went to England, Lorenzo Amoruso went to England and we lost a lot of players.

“We didn’t have the greatest of seasons and for the next season we prepared very quickly and were very careful about picking the players that we thought could win the championship.

“And as it turns out, on the very last day, on Helicopter Sunday, we did.”

McLeish believes character is important when picking signings and is of the opinion that some players at Rangers in recent years haven’t been the right type. Getting in the players who are can help the new manager achieve his ambitions.

“You have to have a bit of character, bravery and self-belief when you come to a club like Rangers,” he said. “I think sometimes over the years, at Rangers and Celtic, you feel that some players didn’t really understand what they were all about.

“The sooner they bring in players that do understand and also get it quickly, the recruitment has to be the absolute number one priority.”