Martin has faced growing criticism north of the border after failing to win any of the Glasgow giants’ opening four league games, and an embarrassing 9-1 aggregate defeat to Club Brugge in a Champions League play-off.
Rangers drew 0-0 last weekend in the first Old Firm derby of the new campaign, and Thelwell, who headhunted Martin in the summer after his previous coaching spells at MK Dons, Swansea and Southampton, believes the 39-year-old, and assistant Matt Gill, are on track.
Martin, who spent a decade as a player in Norfolk, was touted with the Carrow Road managerial vacancy prior to Liam Manning’s summer appointment, but did not feature on City’s target list.
“I’ve been very lucky over the course of my career to work with some very good managers and some very good head coaches, and I have to say, he’s one of the best,” said the Rangers sporting director in a club interview reported by PA.
“He’s a very good coach, very good on the grass, very well organised, he’s extremely high energy. He gives time to players, wants to develop players and he cares about the group, he cares about the results and the performances. I’ve found him very, very collaborative.
“Now, I appreciate I’m saying all of those things and we haven’t quite translated yet what I’m seeing on a day-to-day basis, all of that hard work, into what we need to see on the pitch, but I’m certain that that will happen.
“I appreciate it’s very easy for me to sit here and ask for patience. But there also needs to be a little bit of perspective here because we have changed so much. And hopefully, in due course the fans and everybody will see all of the good work that’s been going on out on the pitch through the performances.”
Thelwell admitted the Brugge hammering was a low point.
“Of course we’re disappointed with the start that we’ve made and frustrated,” he said. “And I’d turn to one game in particular that I think is the most disappointing for us, which is Club Brugge away, a very difficult game for everybody, the fans included.
“We all certainly understood after that game that we needed to put it right quickly and hopefully we’ll do that over the course of the next games.
“There’s been a lot of work done and I appreciate nobody’s yet seen the value of that but hopefully in due course, we will and we can give everybody a team to be proud of.
“We’re working very, very hard now – now that the window has shut – to get absolutely everybody onto one page, to be very clear about what we need to do going forwards.”