Martin makes his mark

By Alan Campbell

WHOEVER was pulling the strings at Ibrox yesterday, it was not Valdas Ivanauskas or any of the other puppet-masters who frequent Tynecastle. As Rangers submitted their most convincing performance since the arrival of Paul Le Guen, Hearts were pulled apart by a skelf of a lad making his debut in Glasgow.

Lee Martin is an employee of Manchester United, but in what may be one of Le Guen’s most astute moves since coming to Scotland he is on loan to Rangers until January at least. While it would be absurd to judge him on his first 90 minutes for the club, he displayed an insatiable appetite for tormenting Hearts which augurs well for Le Guen.

Whether it was from the innumerable free-kicks and corners he wickedly delivered into the Hearts box, or the devilish afternoon he gave Robbie Nielson down the left flank, Martin gave the Rangers supporters a match to remember. Neilson, who also brought Dado Prso down in the box to allow Kris Boyd to score Rangers’ first goal from the spot, got so lathered up that he was sent off in the 93rd minute for a final, frustrated foul on the winger.

“Lee Martin can create something different,” confirmed his manager. “He is a very good option for me because he is a real winger, is fast, and able to run for the whole game.”

This was an assessment Martin, who gives the impression he is not averse to being the centre of attention, generally agreed with. “It was unbelievable,” he said of his afternoon’s experience. “I’m a confident player – I go out there and play my football.”

Le Guen revealed that he had used a contact in the French Football Federation, Francisco Filho, to assess the merits of Martin and another Manchester United loan signing, Phil Bardsley, who also started his first game for Rangers yesterday, at right back instead of Alan Hutton.

“I try to follow football,” said Le Guen, “and there was a guy who worked for the French Federation at Manchester United. Sometimes I spoke with him about their players.”

How long Martin and Bardsley, whose father is from Glasgow and has already been approached by Walter Smith, will stay with Rangers is not clear. “We don’t know,” admitted Le Guen. “We will see. It depends on Manchester United as well, but it was a good option for us to take them, and a good option for them too. They need games to improve. We will talk with Alex Ferguson about it in the following months.”

The manager rang the changes after the mediocre results against Dunfermline and Dundee United, and one player who had been clamouring for a start rewarded the Frenchman with both goals. The suspicion, though, is that Boyd will be ill-advised to make his requests through the media, and if the striker was expecting unstinting praise he didn’t get it.

“I am happy with his two goals but I think he could be better,” Le Guen pointedly remarked. “To score is the most important thing in football, but he must be aware that he can improve and link up better with his partners.”

In contrast with Le Guen, who was able to be measured in his pleasure at the result, there was little to cheer up Ivanauskas. As well as the suspension now facing Neilson, he was forced to replace Roman Bednar, who has a suspected serious ankle injury, with Michal Pospisil at half-time. The replacement lasted only 16 minutes before he, too, had to leave the field injured.

That forced Ivanauskas to end the experiment of playing with three strikers, and given how his side had been pummelled in the closing 20 minutes of the first half, the Lithuanian may wish he had taken such a decision at half time. While he is to be applauded for being attack-minded against the Old Firm, it can’t work when the midfield is being overwhelmed.

At least, in a bloody game for Hearts, Paul Hartley was able to make his seasonal debut after 69 minutes. He may now be pressed into action against AEK in midweek as his side chase what looks a forlorn cause.

“It has been a while since I played, so it was nice to get back into the action,” he said. “Obviously it was disappointing to come on when we were two goals down. I’ve only played 65 minutes in the last three months so I’m short of match fitness but if the manager asks me to play 90 minutes it’s no problem. ”

Hartley said he felt referee Kenny Clark was harsh in issuing Neilson with a second yellow card in the dying seconds. “I didn’t see the point of it,” he said. “It’s not as if we were going to go on and win .”

Taken from the Sunday Herald