Russell Martin must change at Rangers now with crisis dangerously close
Rangers won for the first time in 35 days after beating Hibernian 2-0 in the Premier Sports Cup quarter-final on Saturday.
Martin has bought himself time at Rangers, as the Ibrox club remains winless in the Scottish Premiership.
Andrew Cavenagh continues to back Martin, despite fan protests demanding he be sacked ahead of the match against Hibs.
With Rangers hosting Genk at Ibrox in their Europa League opener on Thursday, a bad result could plunge the Light Blues fans into further despair.
Russell Martin needs to string a run of wins together to escape crisis
Martin was never the fans’ choice to be appointed at Rangers, and the dismal start to the season has fuelled even more hate towards the former-Southampton manager.
Speaking on the Scottish Football Social Club podcast on 22 September, former Rangers full-back Alan Hutton highlighted that Saturday’s win versus Hibs must be a turning point for Rangers.
He said: “If Martin stays in charge at this moment in time, it needs to change now.
“There’s no more time, Rangers have to go from strength to strength from the Hibs game onwards, because if not, you feel they are always going to be one game away from a crisis.”
Toxicity at Ibrox continues to remain high, with many seats left empty as supporters continue to protest the 49ers.
| Games managed | 13 |
| Wins | 4 |
| Draws | 5 |
| Losses | 4 |
| Win percentage | 30.77 |
As seen above, Martin’s win percentage is far too low for someone who is managing Rangers, especially considering the Govan club had a net spend of around £20m in the transfer window.
With his style of play not working well at the moment, Martin will have to keep relying on individual brilliance to win the next few matches.
Nico Raskin could save Russell Martin’s job
The fact that Raskin was the man to star in Rangers’ first big win of the season is incredibly ironic.
Raskin and Martin have been embroiled in a month-long feud which has seen the Belgium international left out of the match day squads against Hearts and Celtic.
However, he was reintroduced into the fold against Hibs and opened the scoring with a deft header just before half-time.
Raskin is desperate to be a part of Belgium’s 2026 World Cup squad, and burying the hatchet with Martin seems like the only way that both can get what they want.
With two tough away matches against Livingston and Sturm Graz on the horizon, Martin will look to Raskin to drive the team forward.
Crisis is never far away, but it’s time to move on to better things again.
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