Rangers silver lining emerges already after Champions League horror show
Rangers were utterly humiliated by Club Brugge in the Champions League on Wednesday.
Rangers travelled to the Jan Breydel Stadium to face Brugge on 27 August, losing the second leg of the play-off 6-0, and matching the Gers’ worst-ever defeat with a scoreline of 9-1 on aggregate.
Max Aarons picked up a red card against Brugge, leading to the Light Blues’ capitulation against the Belgian outfit.
Russell Martin already had his detractors before the Champions League thumping, and has only made things worse for himself.
Russell Martin may have chance to win Europa League with Rangers
Martin has lost the backing of the Gers’ support after what has been an abysmal start to the season.
Pat Nevin fears for the Scottish manager’s job at Ibrox, with the prospect of going nine points behind Celtic in the William Hill Premiership looming large, with the Old Firm derby set to take place on 31 August.
However, the former Chelsea forward feels the Glaswegian outfit may have a shot at winning the Europa League with the right personnel, but fans don’t seem to have any faith in the 39-year-old head coach.
Speaking BBC’s Champions League highlights show on 27 August, Nevin said: “You have to fear for him. Basically, if they lose at the weekend to Celtic at Ibrox, they will be nine points behind. That’s after four games.
“Celtic only lost 15 points last season. They keep you out of the league already, and they’re out of the Champions League. Having said that, the Europa League is a possibility if they get the right players in.
“You might get three or four in between now, as Martin was saying, and Monday. If the manager is to do that and they’re the right players, there’s a possibility.
“But it’s such a long, long shot at the moment. I don’t know. I’ve not met one Rangers supporter yet who’s thought, ‘Yeah, that sounds great, I’m behind that’. None of them believe it.”
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Andrew Cavenagh and 49ers Enterprises should think about Martin’s future after the horror show in Belgium.
The Scottish manager did reveal post-match that Patrick Stewart and Kevin Thelwell back him, and the former Southampton boss isn’t worried about his job in G51.
While the boardroom may be behind Martin for now, the voices from the terraces can’t be ignored, especially with the away fans calling for his sacking.
| Matches | Wins | Draws | Losses |
| 10 | 3 | 4 | 3 |
Rangers arguably had Jack Butland to thank for the result at the Jan Breydel Stadium not being as bad as it could have potentially been.
Beating Celtic at Ibrox in the upcoming fixture has now undoubtedly become a priority for the Gers, and a loss will only leave the Scottish manager wondering when his termination letter will arrive.
Some decent displays in the Europa League saved Philippe Clement from the sack until February last season, and the Light Blues can’t make the same mistake of holding on to a manager seemingly out of his depth.
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