NO HALF MEASURES

Martin: When Jimmy offered me a nip I knew I'd been accepted at Gers.. he could see I was giving it everything I had for the club

- BY FRASER WILSON

RUSSELL MARTIN will never forget his final day as a player at Rangers Training Centre seven years ago.

Alone in the jacuzzi, with only his thoughts about a loan spell which was ending in bitter frustration, for company. That was until Jimmy Bell burst in.

Armed with a bottle of whisky, two plastic tumblers and his unrivalled stories that made the late, great kitman one of the most loved and respected characters at Ibrox for generations.

The team might have been in a bit of soapy bubble but Martin knew in that moment that, despite not producing on the pitch, he had been accepted by one of the most important people at the club.

Martin's not a drinker. But he took a couple of nips.

It was Jimmy Bell insisting, after all.

The conversation certainly lifted the then 33-year-old's spirits.

But it also left Martin with a clear appreciation of the standards that had once driven the club.

No half measures.

He heard all about the glory days under Walter Smith, Graeme Souness and other iconic Ibrox bosses.

Now, seven years on, he has been entrusted with the job of walking in their shoes.

And as Martin spoke to the press deep inside the Bill Struth Stand last week, he recalled those priceless chats with Bell, who passed away suddenly three years ago, and long-standing masseuse David 'Disco' Lavery.

He said: "Honestly, it was incredible.

"It reminded you what the club meant, what brought it success. We'd talk about it a lot - Jimmy especially.

"For the first week or two I didn't have a clue. Jimmy hardly said a word to me apart from to tell me off about kit.

"By the end, we got on really well. I was really sad when he passed away.