‘I Don’t Believe’ – Ex-Star Clear On Rangers Linked Manager | OneFootball

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Former Scottish top-flight star Marvin Bartley believes that Rangers do not have the players who can play the way former Southampton boss Russell Martin will want to play.

Carlo Ancelotti’s Real Madrid assistant, Davide Ancelotti, emerged as the favourite to take over at the helm at Ibrox earlier this month.

However, the trail to the Italian looks to have gone cold as it is now believed that that Ancelotti will join his father in the Brazil set-up.

Two other names that have been talked up are former Rangers manager Steven Gerrard and former Southampton boss Martin.

Ex-Scottish Premiership star Bartley is more in favour of having Gerrard as the next Rangers manager than Martin.

The 38-year-old is of the opinion that the players under contract at Rangers are not suited to the way that Martin would want to play the game; Martin faced criticism at Southampton for refusing to change the way he likes to play.

“I don’t think Rangers have the players to play the way Russell Martin would have wanted to play”, Bartley said on Clyde 1’s Superscoreboard (20:52).

“I just listed the final three, I got Gerrard one, [Davide] Ancelotti two and Russell Martin three.

“Just because I don’t believe that there are players within that squad, still under contract, that can play he wants to play the way he played at Southampton.

“Gerrard for me would have been number one for the reasons I have said.”

For Gerrard, Bartley believes that the backroom staff will be important as the Liverpool great is more about man-management and the personnel out there on the training ground are key.

“I think his backroom staff are going to be absolutely vital to whatever he does going forward because he seems to be more of man-management and the personnel out there on the grass, setting up the sessions etc.

“That is going to be really important, but I imagine the people at Rangers have got a structure there that will work for him.

“He knows who he is going to bring in and they are happy with that.”

In his last spell as the Rangers manager Gerrard prevented rivals Celtic from winning ten league titles in a row.

They will hope for something of the same if they appoint him as the permanent successor to Philippe Clement.