Russell Martin faces ‘really serious questions’ at Rangers already as sack verdict drops
Russell Martin hasn’t enjoyed the finest of starts to his Rangers tenure, and is already facing pressure from supporters.
Martin has so far helped the Gers to wins in Champions League qualifiers over Panathinaikos and Viktoria Plzen, but has struggled domestically.
In the Scottish Premiership, Rangers have drawn 1-1 with Motherwell and Dundee, and a turbulent 4-2 win in the Premier Sports Cup over Alloa has raised questions over his in-game management.
With another Champions League fixture against tough opponents in Club Brugge coming up, the former Southampton manager has a chance to set the record straight.
‘Sizeable’ amount of Rangers fans want Martin gone already
In the most recent Premier Sports Cup win over Alloa, Martin’s side never really looked organised.
A freak equaliser from Alloa showed just how frail his side’s defending was as Joe Rothwell bundled the ball into his own net after a series of ricochets.
The midfielder has come under fire in recent weeks, and supporters have been wondering why Martin constantly elects to pick him over Nico Raskin.
It’s decisions like that which have put the Gers boss under pressure early on in his tenure.
Writing in the Scottish Daily Mail on 17 August (pg 62), Gary Keown said: “The team quite frankly cannot defend and look wide open almost every time they lose the ball.
“They have quite often lacked the zip and ingenuity to break down opposition teams.
“And all that has led to some really, really serious questions about Russell Martin.
“If you took a straw poll of the people who have been going to Ibrox in recent weeks, it would be no surprise to hear a sizeable number want him out the door already.”
Another loss against Brugge and failure to qualify for the Champions League could really put the pressure on Martin.
The 39-year-old has been brought into Ibrox to win trophies, and so far, he has shown no signs that he is capable of doing that in Scotland.
Martin is running out of time to sort out his tactics
Martin has surely now had enough time to sort out his tactics and realise his best starting lineup.
| Team | Games | Wins | Draws | Losses |
| Swansea | 99 | 36 | 26 | 37 |
| Southampton | 73 | 34 | 13 | 26 |
The likes of Raskin and Mohamed Diomande have been dropped for the likes of Kieran Dowell and Rothwell, who have both been poor to say the least.
If Martin wants to stay as Rangers boss for much longer, he must start choosing his best eleven on offer and stop sticking with summer signings who clearly aren’t working.
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