Glasgow Rangers have made a big decision regarding the future of manager Russell Martin, following an uninspiring start to his time at Ibrox.
Martin already under huge pressure at Rangers
The Englishman arrived as the Gers’ new boss in the summer, but he has struggled badly so far, drawing his opening two Scottish Premiership matches.
Things got even worse for Martin earlier this week, however, with Rangers’ 3-1 defeat at home to Club Brugge leaving them on the cusp of Champions League elimination. Speaking after the game, the 39-year-old tried to be positive.
“I understand the intensity and emotion here but it can’t change the way we work and become a weight around the players necks. There has been fragility in this club for a long, long time. The club has bounced around different plans and its been hinged on emotions. Now we have owners that understand where the club has been, where’s it at, and where’s it going.
“I came to this club knowing it wasn’t going to be easy or a quick fix. I hope we’ll be judged in May and by then we’ll be in a really good place and winning stuff.”There are loads for us to be excited about moving forward. We have to go next week and really attack it.”
Despite Martin doing his best to quieten the dissenting voices, there are some Rangers fans who already want him sacked, and there has now been an update on his future.
No "knee jerk" reactions in Rangers boardroom
Speaking to Football Insider, journalist Pete O’Rourke claimed that Martin’s job as Rangers manager is safe for now, but improvements are clearly needed.
“There’s always pressure when you’re at a huge club like Rangers. Pressure will only continue to build, especially if they have more performances like against Club Brugge in that opening 20 minutes. It was really embarrassing from a Rangers perspective that game.
“It’s been a difficult start to his tenure at Ibrox for Russell Martin. They’ve dropped points in the league. They’re already four points behind Celtic. And if they were to crash out of the Champions League before the league stage as well, that’d be a huge blow to the club’s ambitions and also to the club’s finances as well.
“So look, the pressure is on Russell Martin to deliver. From what I’m told there won’t be any knee-jerk reactions from the Rangers board just yet. They’ve obviously got faith in Russell Martin, I don’t think there’s a massive pressure from the board.”
In fairness to Martin, this is probably the best decision for now, considering how little time he has been in charge, as he looks to adjust to his new surroundings and get his tactical demands across to his squad.
That said, drastic improvements are needed very quickly, or he will find himself out of the job, starting with Sunday’s trip to St Mirren in the Scottish Premiership.
More dropped points there for Rangers would feel disastrous, considering they are already four points adrift of Celtic, with their rivals likely to be seven clear by the time Sunday’s game kicks off, assuming they win at home to Livingston on Saturday.
