Forget knee-jerk reactions, some punters have been so quick to jump to conclusions on the new boss they’ve come close to booting their own noses
13:39, 13 Aug 2025Updated 14:30, 13 Aug 2025
Rangers manager Russell Martin talks to Nicolas Raskin
The Rangers support might not like what they are seeing from Russell Martin’s new-look team but they can’t really complain about what they are hearing from him.
Six games in and bar one brief flash at home to Viktoria Plzen, there’s been little sign of the free-flowing, fluid style of play they’ve been promised.
Forget knee-jerk reactions, some punters have been so quick to jump to conclusions on the new boss they’ve come close to booting their own noses.
But there is no denying the fact that in some sections of a fanbase that was already sceptical of Martin’s appointment there are supporters now edging towards outright hostility.
Just take a look at the reactions on social media to the new gaffer’s pre-match press conference here in Plzen on Monday afternoon.
He was treated to the kind of comments Philippe Clement, Michael Beale, Pedro Caixinha and Mark Warburton all got during the final days of their doomed regimes.
Martin, however, has been in the job barely two and a half months and is already facing ludicrous calls for his head.
Of course the fans have every right to be angry about the dismal start to the domestic campaign that already has their team playing catch up on Celtic before parents have even had a chance to drag the kids around the back-to-school sales.
But everyone knew – or certainly they should have – that overhauling a failing squad and implementing a new tactical approach was never going to be a quick fix.
Sorting the issues that have dogged the club for over a decade requires patience but also honesty.
And while the former is in short supply, at least Martin is refusing to sugarcoat the problems his new team has experienced so far.
He was right to call out the individuals who ignored instructions on the opening day at Fir Park and correct again to drop them for the first leg against Plzen.
His words got the desired reaction in that 3-0 win at Ibrox but shifting a culture that too often creaks at the first hint of pressure is a huge undertaking.
It’s these very issues that have allowed Celtic to rack up title after title while barely breaking a sweat.
But Martin isn’t shying away from the issues that need fixing or trying to protect the men who are failing to perform to the required standard.
Russell Martin during Rangers training session
He made it immediately clear who he was referring to with his ego blast after the opening day draw at Motherwell when he dropped Nico Raskin and James Tavernier from his team.
And he refused to shield those who failed to turn up in Plzen last night.
He said: “I said to the attacking guys: ‘It’s not fair on the guys at the back to take the ball under such big pressure, Jack (Butland), he’s finding you, it’s not fair to just turn it over so cheaply’.
“I don’t mind you losing the ball if you’re so aggressive, one v one, taking someone on, but the lack of care on the ball was too much.”
It’s a far cry from Clement trying to excuse a historic defeat to Queen’s Park by prattling on about creating “12 shots on goal”.
It was that type of patter that had fans accusing the Belgian of trying to gaslight the support.
But so far Martin has realised there is no point trying to tell the supporters something different from what they’ve seen with their own eyes.
What they need to see now, however, is vast improvements.
If Martin can’t deliver it, he’ll soon hear what the Light Blue legions at large have to say about it.