Former Ibrox star reacts to claim he is managerial target for Premier League club guided by Rangers legend

A defender formerly of Rangers has responded to claims he could be the next manager of Brighton.

Current Seagulls boss Roberto De Zerbi is being linked to a host of European giants after his impressive work at the Premier League club. He is guided behind the scenes at the AMEX Stadium by Rangers legend David Weir, who is the club technical director, while Auchenhowie academy graduate Billy Gilmour is a key midfield star.

Former Light Blues defender Russell Martin is manager of Southampton in the Championship, having previously worked with MK Dons and Swansea City. A report has linked him to taking over from De Zerbi at Brighton if he were to leave for pastures new, but that is news to Martin, who insists it might be a case of joining dots.

He told the Daily Echo: "Honestly I've not got a clue. The head of media said it to me the other day and I've not got a clue. Obviously, I'm from there and the styles are fairly similar.

“It's probably someone putting two and two together and making five. I'm in a job I'm really happy with, and I need to get promoted to the Premier League. It's really that simple."

During his playing career, Martin featured for Rangers in 2018 on loan. He started his career as a youngster at Brighton before going on to feature for Wycombe Wanderers, Peterborough, Norwich City, Walsall and MK Dons. Martin played regularly for Scotland between 2011 and 2017, retiring from playing in 2019.