The new boss has shared details on his four key lieutenants in the dressing room and one may take you by surprise
When a new manager comes into a football club it can hand players who struggled under the previous regime a clean slate.
And that appears to be the case for forgotten midfielder Kieran Dowell at Rangers.
The 27-year-old was brought to Ibrox by Michael Beale in the summer of 2023 but went onto make just 16 appearances in total in his first season, with Phillippe Clement replacing Beale less than four months after Dowell’s arrival.
The former Everton youngster has been plagued with injury problems since heading north of the border but saw his minutes further restricted by Clement last season, so much so that he headed out to Birmingham City on loan back in January to get back on track.
Dowell – an U20 World Cup winner with England – impressed with the EFL League One club, scoring five times in 19 league matches as the Blues romped to the title to secure immediate promotion back to the Championship.
And while the playmaker and teammate Ben Davies – who also spent time on loan at Birmingham last season – were both expected to rejoin the big-spending West-Midlands club on a permanent basis, Dowell looks to have been handed a lifeline at Ibrox by new boss Michael Beale.
The midfielder has featured in all three of the Light Blues friendly fixtures so far and scored in a 4-1 behind-closed doors win against Dunfermline on Tuesday.
And Dowell’s potentially important role in the new regime has been eluded to by his manager, with Martin including the player in a small group inside the dressing room who have been key in welcoming the raft of summer signings into the club.
Speaking to the media at the England national team’s St George’s Park training complex on Tuesday, he said: “It’s quite a quiet dressing room. There are a lot of people from different backgrounds and there are a lot of young guys.
“But they have spent a lot of time together here and it is getting noisier. There is more noise, smiles and laughs coming out from the games and they are also digging in together.
“When they have to run and work hard together, they are holding each other accountable in training. You could hear that today on the training pitch and that was so different to where we were two and a half weeks ago in terms of the noise.
“The aggression and the way they compete is fantastic and we have to keep asking and driving for that.
“But the guys who have came in have been great as we knew the characters we were bringing in.
“The senior group of Tav (James Tavernier), Jack (Butland), Kieran Dowell and John Souttar are good guys and they have welcomed them and make sure they fell part of it.
“Even if they are not really noisy they have done it in their own way, which is important.”