Russell Martin could make Rangers fans ‘really angry’ after new reveal
Rangers raised a lot of eyebrows when they appointed Russell Martin, and he is under a lot of pressure to get things right immediately.
Martin arrived to much scepticism after months of speculation over who would take the job at Ibrox, and he has been tasked with leading a full rebuild.
A consortium led by 49ers Enterprises and Andrew Cavenagh became the majority shareholders and will back Martin with funds to revamp the squad, with seven new players already joining.
However, despite a poor campaign last season, Martin will find himself under pressure to deliver results from minute one, and Rangers will need to win silverware if he is to survive.
Pat Nevin issues Martin warning
Former Scotland star and pundit Pat Nevin has now issued a warning to Martin, saying that he needs to win the Scottish Premiership.
Rangers finished 17 points behind Celtic last season, and trying to bridge this gap is a daunting prospect for any manager, but the reality is that Martin will be under pressure to do so.
Speaking via the Daily Record (July 19), Nevin explained that Martin’s style is popular when winning, but if Rangers play his risky football and fall behind in the title race, he will face the wrath of the fanbase.
“Am I thinking Rangers are going to win the title? No, not yet. Because Celtic have so many advantages over Rangers at the moment. But Russell, what will be intriguing and the thing I’m most interested in is the style,” Nevin said.
“Russell’s played a certain style which is lovely as long as you’re winning. And then you’re not winning, fans get very, very, very angry about it. And Rangers fans will get angry very quickly if it’s not winning.
“They’ll get really angry with that system because it looks dull and it looks predictable. But it’s very considered. We all know what it is. We’ve watched it. It didn’t work in the Premier League, but it did work before.”
Martin needs Rangers plan B
Perhaps the biggest criticism of Martin at his former clubs was that he had no answer when his style wasn’t working.
Martin’s system sees his side play out from the back with a short passing game, and when this is done in a dominant side, it breeds aesthetically pleasing football.
At Southampton, Martin saw his side promoted from the Championship with his style working, but in the Premier League, it was completely exposed.
Rangers may be able to dominate using his style, but fans will not accept defeat with it, and Martin will need to have a trick up his sleeve with a plan B for when he needs to change system to chase results.
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