49ers have already failed first Rangers test after Russell Martin sack update
Russell Martin has endured a nightmare start to life as Rangers manager.
This summer was earmarked as a potential turning point for Rangers, who have failed to provide any real competition for Celtic domestically since Steven Gerrard departed Glasgow.
Martin was appointed not long after the 49ers were installed as a new ownership; on paper, things looked as though they could have been changing for the better.
However, after Rangers’ 9-1 aggregate defeat against Club Brugge, it’s evident that everything sold to the Light Blues support was nothing but empty promises, and things are a bout to take a turn for the worse after the update on Martin.
Russell Martin will not be sacked at Rangers yet
Despite Rangers’ latest defeat, the lack of identity in their play, their winless start to the league campaign, and of course the growing unrest among one of the most loyal fanbases in Europe, Martin will not be sacked at Ibrox yet.
The failed Southampton manager claimed to have already held talks with Patrick Stewart and Kevin Thelwell, and has no worries about his position in Glasgow.
To cut to the chase, that is extremely worrying.
Regardless of how little time he has had at Rangers, he has done a remarkable job at stripping the Gers of any identity, and things are only going worse.
If the 49ers are not going to act now, it begs the question as to when they will.
When Celtic are already too far ahead in the league to catch them? When they fail to reach the next round of the Premier Sports Cup? Or when Rangers supporters start voting with their feet?
Martin should not have been afforded another minute as Rangers boss after Wednesday night’s defeat, and the fact that he was showcases the failure on the part of the 49ers already.
Steven Gerrard, get yourself back to Ibrox
Philippe Clement failed. Barry Ferguson failed, and Martin is on course to be the biggest failure of the lot.
Rangers can look to appoint another young, possession-based manager, or they can return to the ways that brought them plenty of success under Gerrard.
Would Gerrard return? It’s a question surely worth asking.
Rangers need to get their identity back. They need to get back to a side capable of winning games, and Gerrard would be better placed than anyone else at this point to get that mentality back at Ibrox.
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