Rangers can resurrect Raskin’s career by firing Martin for 4-3-3 manager

Glasgow Rangers head coach Russell Martin is under immense pressure heading into the clash with Hibernian at Ibrox in the latest round of the League Cup.

It feels like a huge game for the former Scotland international after a tricky start to life in Glasgow, losing 2-0 to Hearts in the Scottish Premiership at Ibrox last weekend.

As the title of the highlights above suggests, the pressure is mounting on the Rangers manager due to the poor start to the season, with no wins in their first five league games.

The Scottish giants were also knocked out of the Champions League at the play-off phase with a 9-1 defeat to Club Brugge, which did little to help supporters warm to the new head coach.

On top of the poor results on the pitch, both domestically and in Europe, Martin has ousted Nicolas Raskin from the first-team squad for the last two matches.

The Belgium international did not feature at all in the 0-0 draw with Celtic or the 2-0 defeat to Hearts either side of the international break, and it remains to be seen whether or not he will get any minutes against Hibernian this weekend, although it has been confirmed that he will be a part of the squad.

Why Russell Martin is making a mistake with Nicolas Raskin

Before the defeat to Hearts, Martin said: “Nico is back training with the group but he won’t be in the squad. He has a duty to make sure he earns the trust of all his other team-mates.”

Of course, we are not privy to what goes on behind the scenes. Martin could be in the wrong. Raskin could be in the wrong. Both parties could be in the wrong. What is for sure, though, is that this situation does not benefit the football club.

Legendary Rangers striker Ally McCoist said “you cannot bite your nose off to spite your face” when asked about the situation with the midfielder. He is spot on.

Raskin has proven that he can be a difference-maker 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, per Sofascore.

Rangers have scored two goals in their last five matches in all competitions, failing to score in any of their last three, and this shows that they are lacking his quality in possession at the top end of the pitch.

As you can see in the table above, Raskin also brings defensive quality to the pitch that could have helped the Gers in their 2-0 loss to Hearts and the first half against Club Brugge, when they conceded five before only letting in one with him on the pitch in the second half.

Ultimately, performances and results have not been good enough for Rangers. Another loss, particularly if Raskin is not involved as a starter, should force the board to part ways with the boss.

With this in mind, Kevin Thelwell and the board must consider swooping to appoint Kevin Muscat, whose contract at SH Port expires at the end of this year, per Transfermarkt.

Rangers Journal’s Kai Watson described the English-born head coach as a “perfect” choice and one the fans have “wanted” for several seasons earlier this month. He has been linked with the Ibrox post in previous years as well.

Why Rangers should appoint Kevin Muscat

Unless Martin can turn things around, starting against Hibernian on Saturday, the Light Blues should fire their head coach to appoint Muscat because he could resurrect Raskin’s Ibrox career and get the team back on track this season.

Above all else, the 52-year-old manager has proven that he can win trophies. He has won a league title and a domestic cup with SH Port, on top of two league titles and one cup with Melbourne Victory and one league title and a super cup with Yokohama F. Marinos, per Transfermarkt.

This shows that he knows how to build teams that can win major trophies. Perhaps the most impressive part of his record is that he has done it in three different countries: Australia, Japan, and China. This shows that he can adapt to different cultures and ways of playing and still build a side to win consistently.

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

Rangers could tempt him to give up on a chance to turn things around and win the league title with SH Port by offering him the job at Ibrox, should they decide to part ways with Martin.

As well as being a winning manager, Muscat also has a style of play that could get the best out of Raskin. The aforementioned Kai Watson claimed that the manager plays “fast attacking football” with “relentless pressing”.

This suggests that he would be the perfect head coach to get the best out of Raskin because that combines the two parts of his game that he thrives on, fast attacking play and pressing to win possession back.

As aforementioned, the Belgium international is a creative midfielder who can set his teammates up for high-quality chances on a regular basis, but he is also a combative and tenacious defender who wants to get stuck in and win the ball back high up the pitch.

Putting him in Muscat’s favoured 4-3-3 formation, per Transfermarkt, could allow him to thrive both in and out of possession at Ibrox once again, rather than having to sit at the base of a ball-dominant Martin side that does not give him as much freedom to burst forward or to get up the pitch to be combative off the ball.

Therefore, Rangers could revive Raskin’s Ibrox career by firing the underperforming Martin and appointing a head coach whose system and style would maximize the midfielder’s potential, while also enhancing the team’s overall winning culture.