![\"Barry](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/1754647868_906_maxresdefault.jpg\")
<\/p>\nThe legendary skipper heard Martin\u2019s evisceration of his players at Motherwell and then witnessed a better performance in the Champions League qualifier<\/p>\n
06:00, 08 Aug 2025Updated 07:08, 08 Aug 2025<\/p>\n
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Barry Ferguson: Rangers have an internal mole problem – Hotline Live<\/p>\n
Ask yourself a question. How do you like to be treated?<\/p>\n
Do you enjoy trying to second guess what people actually expect from you? Or, like me, do you prefer being told straight and to your face?<\/p>\n
It\u2019s always been my belief that honesty is the best policy. That\u2019s how I was brought up and it stood me well throughout my career in football.<\/p>\n
And it\u2019s why I was so pleased to hear Russell Martin<\/a> telling it how it is after watching Rangers<\/a> drop two points in their opening game of the season at Motherwell.<\/p>\n Some people winced when they heard his pull-no-punches assessment of the way his players had performed<\/a>. There was even a suggestion that he had \u2018gone too early\u2019 and that, by speaking from the heart, he might have created a divide between himself and the dressing room.<\/p>\n I couldn\u2019t disagree more.<\/p>\n In my experience, it\u2019s always best to level with people so that everyone knows exactly where they stand. And I\u2019m not just talking about getting the message across to the players \u2013 I\u2019m more concerned with the people who matter most of all. The fans.<\/p>\n The ones who travel to give you their support in vast numbers. Week in week out. The same supporters who went away from Fir Park on Saturday night feeling let down and disappointed all over again.<\/p>\n They knew what they had just watched because they\u2019ve seen it too many times before. The last thing they wanted to hear after watching the first two points of the season slip away was a manager attempting to sugar coat it or trying to fool them into thinking black is actually white.<\/p>\n So let\u2019s just say I enjoyed listening to what Russell said afterwards in his post match interviews a whole lot more than I enjoyed watching the way the team played, especially in that second half.<\/p>\n It was refreshing. It was brutally honest. And it was absolutely spot on.<\/p>\n There was no attempt to tip-toe around about what everyone had clearly seen with their own eyes. It wasn\u2019t good enough, he wasn\u2019t happy and he wanted everyone to know that it simply won\u2019t be accepted from this point on.<\/p>\n Good on him – I said some of the same things myself during my short time in charge towards the end of last season – because no manager should ever accept seeing the opposition run more and work harder than his own layers. And especially not the manager of Rangers.<\/p>\n I liked it. He was strong, open and honest and, as soon as he had spoken, it was a question of what the reaction was going to look like the next time his team stepped out on the pitch.<\/p>\n Well, on Tuesday night we got the answer I fully expected when Rangers ran all over the top of Viktoria Plzen to take a 3-0 lead into the second leg of their Champions League<\/a> qualifier.<\/p>\n I don\u2019t want to focus on what was said and done during last season. But what I will say is, I think these players responded well to a bit of plain speaking and honesty.<\/p>\n And that was the case again on Sunday and Monday.<\/p>\n Of course they were going to be up for the game on Tuesday. But it\u2019s important that they realise they should be up for every game when they pull on that shirt. They are playing for Glasgow Rangers.<\/p>\n And that\u2019s the message the manager has clearly spelled out for them.<\/p>\n![\"Russell](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/0_Rangers-v-FC-Viktoria-Plzen-UEFA-Champions-League-Third-Qualifying-Round-First-Leg.jpg\")
Russell Martin congratulates Cyriel Dessers(Image: SNS Group)<\/p>\n