Martin’s A Consummate Professional – Murty

Interim Rangers manager Graeme Murty met with the media yesterday afternoon and speaking about new loan signing Russell Martin, he described the Norwich defender as a ‘consummate professional’.

Having previously worked with Martin at Carrow Road, Murty believes that he’ll be a great addition to the group on a number of levels as he hailed his leadership qualities and his general attitude to football, not just his playing attributes.

Speaking to the Official Site Murty said of his fourth signing of the January window so far.

‘He`s a character and a personality that I know very, very well. He leads by what he does and how he lives his life, and he is a consummate professional. We need that. We need strong characters in the group but we also need people who are going to hold others to account if they are not quite at the right standard. Not in a bad way or in a way to put people down. I`m not about people pointing out fault for people to make themselves look good. I want people who are going to hold others to account to make our practice better and to make others better on a daily basis. I believe Russell can be that kind of guy.’

Murty went on to say of the 32 year old defender.

‘I wanted to bring in someone that I know has high standards and can drive the standards of the group forward. As I said, I think we need more, better players who make the group better, and we also need people who are able to stand up in a tough changing room in tough circumstances and put forward their view forcefully in order to make us better. I think the more people we have like that and the freer they are talking to each other and challenging one another, and maintaining their standards, it`s to the betterment of the group.’

Adding.

‘I`ve said to the group all the way through that their top standard and their highest level is not a problem. We`ve seen what their high standard looks like against Aberdeen and against Celtic – we`ve seen what they can do. It`s the daily habits and how far they are willing to come away from that top standard in their daily life which will define what we do this season. I think the more people we have pushing that standard on a daily basis, the better.’

Moving on from the impact he can have in the dressing room and on the training pitch in terms of being a leader, Murty was also full of praise for his playing attributes and the fact he carries with him some versatility with gives Murty greater options.

‘He offers stability, he offers experience and he offers a bit of versatility as well as he can play in a three, he can play as a centre-back and he can play as a right-back. He`s a steady kind of guy and a good talker. All of those things and all of those attributes add to the collective and add to the group. I`ve said to the players who have the shirt at the moment – they have a responsibility and a duty to make sure they perform well enough to keep it. I believe the players who have played have done that at times, but we need to make sure we do it consistently. When we do that, I think we will really show how good a team we can be.’

With four new faces so far this month already, Murty also admitted that he was pursuing other options to add to the squad and whilst he was hopeful of dong some more business before the transfer window closes, at the time of speaking nothing was imminent.

‘By the end of the window, maybe. Things are ongoing and always ongoing in a transfer window. It`s a really, really busy time and I expect people to come and enquire about some of our players and I expect to enquire about other players. But, I obviously don`t think it`s right to talk about them until it`s done. Business is going on behind the scenes and work is being done.’

He added.

‘Talks and conversations are being had at a high level. It`s all to the good and it`s so I have as much of a headache as possible come selection time. It is a responsibility I don`t think I was ready for. But, looking at it now, I think it is one any manager would relish and should relish. We can move forward and we can be better than we were.’