RUSSELL MARTIN welcomed John Greig CBE and Sir Alex Ferguson to Rangers Training Centre this week, with some positive messages for his players ahead of the start of competitive action.
They both met with the squad in the build-up to Tuesday evening’s UEFA Champions League second round qualifier against Panathinaikos, and Martin said it was incredible to have them around the building.
In an exclusive interview for RangersTV, Martin explained: “It has been brilliant for the guys to see them, and they are both desperate for this team to do well, for us to do well as a group and they have echoed that message.
“Any team talk or any message I have for the players is done when those two guys speak about this club, what it means to them and what they expect from the performance.
“I played under Darren Ferguson at Peterborough, and he reached out a few weeks ago and said his dad wanted to give me a call and I said of course!
"Since then, Sir Alex has been in touch regularly, he has been great, and I said to him you need to come in as soon as you can.
"He has been really supportive of me personally, which has been incredible and then Mr Greig messaged me too when I got the job, and this has been the first chance he got to come in too.
TICKETING: Watch Russell Martin take to the Ibrox dugout for the first time competitively as Head Coach against Panathinaikos HERE.
“They are both really behind us, what we are doing, and they just feel the same way as everyone else. They want to see a team that fights and works for everything and has a way about them that typifies and exemplifies what they believe this club to be about.”
On what it is he wants to see from his players, Martin continued: “We have to get into a habit of winning and we have to get into the habit of playing in the way we want to play regardless of who we play against.
“I have said that to the team from day one, it has to be about us, about our intention and about our habits. If we are going to do something, we are going to do it all of the time.
"If we are going to run, it is not a choice, we are going to run all of the time, if we are going to fight, we are going to fight all of the time. There is never a choice at this football club, you have to do it.”