Rangers can resuscitate Raskin’s career in dismissing Martin for manager 4-3-3

Glasgow Rangers head coach Russell Martin is subject to huge pressure before the shock with Hibernian in Ibrox during the last round of the League Cup.

It looks like a huge game for the former Scottish international after a delicate start to Glasgow, losing 2-0 against Hearts in the first Scottish in Ibrox last weekend.

As the title of highlights above suggests, the pressure rises on the Rangers manager due to the bad start of the season, without victory during their first five championship games.

The Scottish Giants were also eliminated from the Champions League during the dam phase with a 9-1 defeat against the Brugge club, which did not do much to help the supporters to warm up the new head coach.

In addition to bad results on the field, both at the national level and in Europe, Martin ousted Nicolas Raskin from the first team team for the last two games.

The Belgian international did not appear at all in the draw 0-0 with Celtic or the 2-0 defeat against hearts on each side of the international break, and he remains to be seen whether or not will obtain minutes against Hibernian this weekend, although he was confirmed that he will be part of the team.

Why Russell Martin makes a mistake with Nicolas Raskin

Before the defeat against Hearts, Martin said: “Nico is back to train with the group but he will not be in the team. He has a duty to ensure that he wins the confidence of all his other teammates.”

Of course, we are not aware of what’s going on behind the scenes. Martin could be wrong. Raskin could be wrong. Both parties could be wrong. What is certain, however, is that this situation does not benefit the football club.

The legendary rangers striker Ally McCOIST said “You can’t bite your nose to go wrong” when you were asked for the situation with the midfielder. It is perfect.

Raskin has proven that he can be a manufacturer of difference for the Gers, as shown in the clip above, after a return of five goals and 11 assists in all competitions in the 2024/25 campaign by Sofascore.

The Rangers have scored two goals in their last five games in all competitions, not having scored in one of their last three, which shows that they lack its quality in possession at the top of the field.

As you can see in the table above, Raskin also brings a defensive quality on the field that could have helped the Gers during their 2-0 defeat against Hearts and the first half against the Brugge club, when they conceded five before letting only enter the field in the second period.

In the end, the performance and the results were not good enough for the Rangers. Another loss, especially if Raskin is not involved as a starter, should force the council to separate from the boss.

In this spirit, Kevin Thelwell and the Board of Directors must consider immersing himself to appoint Kevin Muscat, whose contract at SH Port expires at the end of this year, according to Transfermarkt.

Kai Watson of the Rangers Journal described the head coach of English origin as a “perfect” choice and the one that fans “wanted” for several seasons earlier this month. It was also linked to the Ibrox post in previous years.

Why should Rangers name Kevin Muscat

Unless Martin can change things, starting against Hibernian on Saturday, the light blues should draw their head coach to name Muscat because he could resuscitate the Ibrox career in Raskin and put the team on the right track this season.

Above all, the 52-year-old manager has proven that he can win trophies. He won a League title and a national cup with SH Port, in addition to two league titles and a cup with Melbourne Victory and a League title and a Super Cup with Yokohama F. Marinos, by transfer.

This shows that he knows how to constitute teams that can earn major trophies. The most impressive part of his file is perhaps he did in three different countries: Australia, Japan and China. This shows that he can adapt to different cultures and ways to play and still build a side to win regularly.

As you can see in the table above, Muscat has won two league titles in the last four seasons, and still has six games from the current campaign to make three in four.

The Rangers could try to give up a chance to change things and win the title of the League with SH Port by offering him the position in Ibrox, if they decide to separate from Martin.

In addition to being a winning manager, Muscat also has a style of play that could make the most of Raskin. The aforementioned Kai Watson said that the manager played “Fast Attack Football” with “incessant pressing”.

This suggests that he would be the perfect head coach to get the most out of Raskin, because it combines the two parts of his game on which he prospered, quickly attacking the game and supporting to reconquer possession.

As indicated above, the Belgian international is a creative midfielder who can regularly prepare his teammates for high quality chances, but he is also a combative and tenacious defender who wants to get stuck and win the ball at the top of the field.

Placing him in the privileged 4-3-3 formation of Muscat, by transfer, could allow him to prosper both at the same time at the possession and the exit to Ibrox, rather than having to sit on the base on one side Martin dominant of the ball which does not give him as much freedom to burst or to climb the ground to be combative out of the ball.

Consequently, the Rangers could rekindle the career of Ibrox de Raskin in dismissing the underperforming Martin and by appointing a head coach whose system and the style would maximize the potential of the midfielder, while improving the overall winning culture of the team.