{"id":215358,"date":"2025-06-26T08:01:16","date_gmt":"2025-06-26T08:01:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/215358\/"},"modified":"2025-06-26T08:01:16","modified_gmt":"2025-06-26T08:01:16","slug":"im-a-rangers-fan-who-teamed-up-with-conor-coady-to-get-wolves-to-the-premier-league-russell-martin-needs-him","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/215358\/","title":{"rendered":"I’m a Rangers fan who teamed up with Conor Coady to get Wolves to the Premier League \u2013 Russell Martin needs him"},"content":{"rendered":"

Russell Martin made his first signing on Wednesday with Max Aarons arriving on loan – and another Englishman could be on his wayConor Coady celebrates while at Wolves with Barry Douglas<\/p>\n

As a title-winning team-mate of his at Wolves he knows Conor Coady<\/a> inside out.<\/p>\n

As a St Johnstone player last season, he also got up close and personal with Rangers.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why, if the English defender ends up at Ibrox this summer, Barry Douglas is convinced they\u2019re the perfect match.<\/p>\n

He played alongside Coady at Molineux in 2017\/18 when – under Nuno Espirito Santo – they won the Championship and made it to the Premier League<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Douglas was blown away – not just by Coady as a ball-playing centre-back – but also by the Scouser\u2019s infectious personality.<\/p>\n

In his career, the Scot has never met a more energetic character or leader of men.<\/p>\n

And given his experience of going up against the current Rangers<\/a> side recently, Douglas says Coady is EXACTLY what they need to help them mount a title challenge to champions Celtic.<\/p>\n

(Image: AP)<\/p>\n

New Ibrox gaffer Russell Martin<\/a> has a huge task on his hands trying to topple Brendan Rodgers\u2019 side after taking over in Govan.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s keen to sign Coady from Leicester City in a bid to bolster his backline<\/a>. And Douglas believes if the deal goes through, the 32-year-old will be an ideal fit for Rangers.<\/p>\n

He told Record Sport<\/strong>: \u201cAs a character, I don\u2019t think I\u2019ve come across much better in my career than Conor. That\u2019s saying a lot as I\u2019ve met a lot of good people.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut as a human being, Coads is infectious. He\u2019s got so much energy. You\u2019ll never see him not in a positive mood, regardless of the situation.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s a leader. And that\u2019s what a club the stature of Rangers has been missing for a lot of years, a proper leader. Conor is always pushing everyone. He\u2019s constantly on a high frequency.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think I\u2019ve ever seen him upset. He\u2019s always smiling and optimistic. And that grows arms and legs in a dressing-room.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s very vocal but everything he says resonates. It\u2019s not just for the sake of being vocal. You come across people in football who just like to hear the sound of their own voice.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut Coads isn’t like that. He’s like a manager, in that sense. He\u2019ll be like a manager on the pitch for Russell. It\u2019s a great fit for Rangers.\u201d<\/p>\n

That Wolves dressing-room seven years ago had the likes of Matt Doherty, Ruben Neves, Diogo Jota and Morgan Gibbs-White in it.<\/p>\n

But Coady was the organiser and orchestrator of everything they did. And Douglas believes those types of qualities are lacking at Ibrox right now.<\/p>\n

He said: \u201cWe had a lot of big characters in that Wolves team and top players. But Conor took on that responsibility, which takes a lot.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s why he\u2019s had the career he\u2019s had. He\u2019s an England international and we all know how hard it is to break into that squad.<\/p>\n

\u201cCoads has loads of experience of winning, as we did at Wolves that year. That HAS to be a positive if he signs for Rangers.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s what they need, more winners. They need guys who have been there and done it at the highest level.<\/p>\n

Celtic’s Alistair Johnston and St Johnstone’s Barry Douglas in action<\/p>\n

\u201cConor is a very good player. He was vital for us in that promotion season in getting us to the Premier League<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe slotted into the middle of a back three and it was his first time playing there. His job was to start attacks for us because he\u2019s got such a great array of passes. He can control the game for you.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you took Coady out of that Wolves team, it just wouldn\u2019t have worked. He was so important to how we played. And his leadership on the pitch – his reading of the game – made it so much easier for everyone around him.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019ll see that if he comes here, just how he organises everyone. There\u2019s been a lot of change at Rangers over the summer with the ownership and a new manager.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut for what they want to try and achieve, Conor could be crucial for them. They need players who can deal with the business end of a season.<\/p>\n

\u201cRangers have good players – but not many who have been involved in big moments at big clubs. Where it\u2019s required to steady the ship and navigate through it.<\/p>\n

\u201cAlso, Coads is a possession-based player and that\u2019s what Russell wants. So he\u2019ll be perfect for how he wants to play at Rangers and the system he\u2019ll use. I grew up a Rangers fan and I\u2019ll be really excited if this deal happens.\u201d<\/p>\n

Coady grew up on Merseyside so Douglas says a big-city rivalry in Glasgow won\u2019t faze him. If anything, he feels the former Everton defender would relish the challenge of playing at the Old Firm.<\/p>\n

And if Martin and Rangers are going to be serious title contenders this season, Douglas claims Coady could be a key figure.<\/p>\n

He said: \u201cHe\u2019s a Scouser so I don\u2019t think the transition to Glasgow would be too difficult for him. How would he cope with the pressure at the Old Firm?<\/p>\n

\"LeicesterLeicester City’s Conor Coady (Image: CameraSport via Getty Images)<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s been used to big, pressurised games throughout his career. And he\u2019s used to that need to win. That\u2019s why it would be a good fit.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I know him and what he brings – and I know the demands of playing for a club the size of Rangers – I think he\u2019d really thrive on that.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf Russell can get guys like Conor in to play the way he wants to play – I think it can be a good year for Rangers to go and challenge Celtic.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s OK playing beautiful football but at a club like Rangers, you need results. But with the quality players they\u2019ve got – I think they\u2019ll get results IF everyone buys into it.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen they see how it works under Russell, the football will become a lot more enjoyable. Fans will love seeing Rangers playing good football – and winning games.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Russell Martin made his first signing on Wednesday with Max Aarons arriving on loan – and another Englishman…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":215359,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4100],"tags":[2352,2628,85616,162,94,34286,16924,1946,28104,1638,79,2631,16,15,1928],"class_list":{"0":"post-215358","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-football","8":"tag-brendan-rodgers","9":"tag-celtic-fc","10":"tag-conor-coady","11":"tag-english-premier-league","12":"tag-football","13":"tag-ibrox-stadium","14":"tag-leicester-city-fc","15":"tag-rangers-fc","16":"tag-russell-martin","17":"tag-scottish-premiership","18":"tag-sports","19":"tag-st-johnstone-fc","20":"tag-uk","21":"tag-united-kingdom","22":"tag-wolverhampton-wanderers"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114748619884241912","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/215358","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=215358"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/215358\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/215359"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=215358"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=215358"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=215358"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}