RUSSELL Martin last night admitted the chance to work with Rangers manager Graeme Murty had convinced him to move to Ibrox on loan until the end of the season.
Martin, the Scotland defender who has fallen out of the first team at Norwich City this season, joined the Glasgow club for the remainder of the 2017/18 campaign yesterday.
The 32-year-old first encountered Murty when the former Reading right back was a youth coach at Carrow Road and revealed that he was greatly impressed with his abilities.
He hopes that he can become a regular starter under him in the coming months and do well enough to win back his place in the national team which he lost during the Russia 2018 qualifying campaign.
“I am really excited to be here,” Martin told Rangers TV. “There were offers from the Championship in England as well so I am pleased to get it done. But I spoke to my agent and from the off and it was the one I really wanted to happen.
“It is a huge football club and at this stage in my career to come here really excites me. It is a challenge as well. I hope I can come in and help them, help the manager and keep on progressing.
“I have worked with the manager a little bit before at Norwich, but it is just really the opportunity to come and play here in front of this crowd on a regular basis.
“I saw the work he did with the youth team at Norwich. He is a really really good coach and he has done a good job here in the short time he has been in charge.
“I saw him a lot because I have been doing my coaching badges so I used to watch quite a few of his sessions and I took his squad on occasions as well.
“Also speaking to the other coaches down there as well when this was a possibility, a lot of people have been asking me about it and I am still in touch with a few of them.
“Just from speaking to people they all thought he was a really top coach which is why he got the job here in the first place doing what he is doing and why he has been asked to manage to the football club.”
Martin added: “I need to get back playing football. It has been a while, but I think I will bring what I bring – I try and organise, try and talk or try and help people through the game – will help the team.
“I want to help us defensively and help make us better, as simple as that. I want to keep playing, I am a defender who likes to have the ball, who likes to start attacks and I like to pass the ball. Hopefully people get to see a bit of that.”
Martin, who is the fifth new player to arrive at Ibrox in the January transfer window after Jason Cummings, Sean Goss, Declan John and Jamie Murphy joined, vowed to help young Rangers players like David Bates and Ross McCrorie to improve.
He said: “One hundred percent I want to be a role model, I have been captain of every club I have played at at some point.
“I pride myself on professionalism, it has got me as far as it has in my career so if that is one of the reasons the manager wants me here, and we spoke about it this morning.
“I look forward to taking that role on, we have some really good young players here and lads who have been playing recently and doing really well so if I can help them in any way possible to be better for this football club in the future then it is a job well done.”
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