RUSSELL Martin praised the togetherness of his squad after a 0-0 draw in the first Old Firm derby of the Scottish Premiership season this afternoon.
The head coach was disappointed not to be able to win the game but was proud of the performance from his side after a tough week.
Speaking to RangersTV at full time, he said: “I am disappointed we didn’t win but I liked so much of the performance. Everything that we were questioned on outside of the group, and also, we questioned with each other inside, the desire to defend, to run, to match your runner, to be aggressive to try and outfight and dominate our opponent, there was so much of that and we need to live there all the time.
“That is the acceptable level to be at this football club in terms of intensity, togetherness and spirit. We asked for that and we spoke about the importance of that. They showed today how hard they want to work for each other, for us, for the fans so we need to live here all the time.
“Then there are moments we have to be a bit more composed with the ball, we can definitely be a bit better with the ball. We had a lot of time spent in their final third and in their territory that we should make more of but it is really difficult to have big composure when you are so front footed and so aggressive, so I am pleased with the team, and I am proud of them.
“Especially the guys who haven't played so much recently, Tav, Connor, Dio, they were immense. We have to improve, get better and create a bit more than we did today but today was making sure we were first, and foremost, together and fighting.
“The supporters were amazing, after midweek and how the media works up here and all the noise that comes with everything, I am really grateful for that.
“A few people let me know how they feel at the end, but that is why I didn't go on the pitch because it is not about me, it is not about an individual player, today was about the players and the supporters.
“We are six points from the top of the league. We are frustrated we didn't win today, and we have to use that as fuel now and be really hungry to hunt people down and make sure that we improve and we move forward.”
On the international break, Martin continued: “We'll analyse everything, the way we have trained and what we have done. There have been so many games and so little time on the training pitch.
“A lot of our guys go away and I am looking forward to some time on the training pitch this week and working on what is going to help us as a group and a team. I saw loads of that stuff today so I am proud of the group, the togetherness they showed, and it is going to be so important for us moving forward.”
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