What Russell Martin’s said about two Rangers players ‘just doesn’t add up after Ibrox shambles’
Russell Martin is already coming under heavy scrutiny as Rangers manager.
Martin, 39, saw his Rangers side fall to defeat against Club Brugge last time out in what was a hugely disappointing Ibrox performance.
Despite a second-half strike from Danilo, there was a general lack of positivity to take from the first leg of the final Champions League qualifier.
As a result, it is little surprise that the English head coach is facing an uncertain future ahead of a clash against St Mirren on Sunday (24 August).
With that being said, it is the words of Martin that have resulted in further frustration at Rangers, having taken charge of just seven competitive games.
Russell Martin slammed for Club Brugge comments
There is no hiding away from how poor the performance was against the Belgian outfit, especially with so much importance riding on the result.
Simon Jordan branded Martin as “foolish” at full-time, something which doesn’t go against the general feeling of the Light Blues faithful.
The experience of Brugge on the European stage played its part, especially when 32-year-old Brandon Mechele got on the scoresheet in his 500th appearance in black and blue stripes.
With that being said, the Gers’ head coach still spoke out at full-time to suggest that Joe Rothwell and Max Aarons had their best games since signing at Ibrox.
This went against the general feeling of the Gers faithful, something which hasn’t been lost on Gary Keown in his weekly Scottish Mail on Sunday column (24 August, page 83).
Speaking out against Martin, he said: “Good bloke or not, the problem is that a fair bit of what Martin has to say just doesn’t add up.
“His words about Joe Rothwell and Max Aarons having barnstormers in that midweek shambles against Club Brugge in the Champions League qualifiers and being unable to influence things from the technical area have already been picked apart in surgical fashion.”
Max Aarons has to show more for Rangers
There have been some positive signs from the loan signing from Bournemouth, although expectations may have been higher at this early stage.
This has seen the 25-year-old put in a mixed bag of performances, with James Tavernier still featuring regularly for Rangers this campaign.
| Stat (Scottish Premiership 25/26) | Max Aarons |
| Appearances | 2 |
| Chances created | 1 |
| Tackle win rate (%) | 66.7 |
| Yellow cards | 1 |
Unfortunately for Aarons, he will be measured against the yardstick of the 33-year-old throughout his loan spell at Ibrox this campaign.
If Aarons can’t manage to get past the Gers captain on a regular basis, the comments of Martin will continue to grate on fans and Keown even further.
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