Martin feels heat again, but are Rangers players letting him down?published at 08:17 BST
08:17 BST
Rangers 0-1 Genk
Tom English
BBC Scotland chief sports writer at Ibrox
Image source, Getty Images
There’s no end of flak that can be flung at Russell Martin for the epic fail that is his project at Rangers.
But watching his reaction when Mohamed Diomande got a deserved red card four minutes before half-time at Ibrox made you feel for the man.
Rangers had been second best. Fitful at the back, wasteful in possession, headless chickens in too many areas. Again.
Even before the red, it looked likely that Martin’s period of calm after Saturday’s League Cup win over Hibernian was about to come to a shuddering and noisy end.
In losing the plot, Diomande more or less ensured that Rangers were losing this Europa League opener against Genk, currently Belgium’s 14th best team.
By lunging in on Zakaria El Ouahdi, Diomande left his team-mates in a terrible lurch, already struggling with 11 and now sitting ducks with 10.
The lack of self-control was unforgivable, the look of confused innocence on his face in the aftermath a complete nonsense. A 1-0 defeat was incoming.
Diomande, who on his very best days looks like a player worthy of the jersey, has been nowhere near it this season. Too often he’s been lazy in his work and now he was ridiculous in his discipline.