Ibrox mystery man earns promotion to Martin’s Leadership Group

Kieran Dowell has been named by Russell Martin as part of his team’s leadership group!

It would be a compliment to describe the midfielder’s two seasons at Ibrox as underwhelming.

After 12 SPFL Premiership last season totalling 252 minutes Dowell was sent on loan to Birmingham City, in the third tier of English football playing for a dominant club he seemed to find his level.

Micky Beale snapped Dowell up during the summer of 2023, arriving at Ibrox after losing his place in the Norwich team to Kenny McLean.

In his opening season he managed to be on the pitch for 491 minutes of SPFL action, the equivalent of less than six games.

With a year left on his lucrative contract the 27-year-old has found himself promoted into an elite group.

Discussing the bonding that built up last week at St George’s Park, Martin told  The Sun:

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.

But the guys who have come in have been great as we knew the characters we were bringing in.

The aggression and the way they compete is fantastic and we have to keep asking and driving for that.

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 feel part of it.

Even if they are not really noisy they have done it in their own way, which is important.

Butland is the only member of the leadership group with more than a year left on his contract.