Rangers have had a torrid start to life under Russell Martin as they currently sit one place above the bottom of the table on four points. Their winless run in the Scottish Premiership has given way to many questions about Martin’s decisions and capabilities.
One of the biggest questions that Rangers fans have been asking surrounds the treatment of Nicolas Raskin. Last season, Raskin was one of Rangers’ standout players, contributing five goals and 11 assists from midfield. However, this year his appearances have been few and far between.
In the league, Raskin has only played 197 minutes, the 12th most in the squad, after playing the 5th most league minutes last season. Raskin has featured more prominently in the Scottish League Cup and in their failed push for Champions League qualification, but has been notably absent in the league, where they desperately need points.
With no clear answer from Martin as to why he is handling Raskin in this way, some have taken to speculation as to what may have led to Raskin falling out of favour. However, in a recent interview, Keith Jackson rubbished one of the rumours.
Jackson dispels Raskin leaks rumour
This weekend saw Raskin receive a rare start as he scored the opener in Rangers’ 2-0 win over Hibernian in the cup. Following the game, Keith Jackson spoke to Hotline Live about the Raskin/Martin situation: “And you’ve seen this rumour, and I don’t believe it for a second about Raskin leaking team news to the Brugge manager. That doesn’t fit with what I’m told about Raskin as a person.”
Part of what led to the speculation about Raskin leaking the team news is that, following the 6-0 defeat, he was absent from the entirety of the next two match days. However, with the result leading to Rangers missing out on Champions League qualification, and in turn millions of pounds that could have gone towards improving the team and the squad, it is almost certain his punishment would have been far more severe if the rumour was true.
A more likely reason for Raskin’s absence is a tactical decision from Martin. At points this season, Raskin has had to play out of position as Martin has utilised the Bournemouth loanee Max Aarons centrally. Jackson didn’t mince his words when he expressed his dissatisfaction with this strategy from Martin.
“I couldn’t for the life of me understand why Raskin was getting shoved out to the left-hand side to allow Aarons to get on the ball and try to dominate the middle of the pitch. That was madness, and if I were Raskin, I would be asking questions about that.”
Raskin may be key to Martin's survival
Raskin’s performance after being left out in the cold has demonstrated he’s worthy of coming back into the first team. He’s popped up with two goals and an assist in all competitions this season, and Martin needs to get his team scoring if he wants to remain in the job.
The experimentation with Aarons drifting inside hasn’t been paying off, and adapting his style of play to incorporate the aspects of the team that worked under Philippe Clement and Barry Ferguson may be the only way Martin can turn things around.
