Russell Martin raises eyebrows with Rangers claim after footage seen pre-Genk clash
Russell Martin isn’t fooling anyone with his calm demeanour as Rangers face Genk in the Europa League on Thursday.
The Gers have endured an abysmal start to the season under the Scottish manager, prompting questions about his future in G51.
While Andrew Cavenagh is backing Martin for now, the Light Blues’ fans have had enough of him and have held demonstrations against the former Southampton boss.
Genk will travel to Ibrox on 25 September, and all eyes will be back on the 39-year-old head coach if the Glaswegian outfit falter.
Rangers pressure not enjoyable for Russell Martin
Alex Rae doesn’t believe Martin is actually enjoying the pressure at the Gers.
In the pre-match press conference before Genk’s arrival at Ibrox, the Scottish manager claimed that he was relishing the scrutiny during his tenure in G51.
Rae doesn’t believe anyone can like being in a situation the former Southampton boss finds himself in after seeing footage from supporters expressing their discontent.
Speaking on Clyde 1 Superscoreboard on 24 September, the Glaswegian outfit’s former coach said: “It’s not really for the faint-hearted. I raised my eyebrows when he actually said that initially. I think he’s trying to turn it into a positive, he’s trying to look at it as something he can grow from.
“He speaks about that quite a lot, the team are growing and you’ll see it in a couple of weeks’ time and so forth. I’m not exactly sure anyone can enjoy that type of scrutiny from the fan base. A couple of weeks ago, I saw some footage where fans were up in arms.”
Read More: Martin can’t make mistake after latest team news vs Genk
Andrew Cavenagh can’t continue to ignore Ibrox fury
Cavenagh risks facing the ire of the Ibrox faithful if things don’t turn around at the Gers under Martin.
The US consortium are showing enormous faith in the current management despite a disastrous start to the season.
It wouldn’t be surprising to see the Light Blues eventually make a change in the dugout, as fans are growing increasingly frustrated with the Scottish manager’s failures in G51.
| Matches | Wins | Draws | Losses |
| 13 | 4 | 5 | 4 |
Martin needs to demonstrate that he’s the right person to lead Rangers, and that would require a tremendous winning run in the coming months.
The Scottish manager has a chance to show he’s learnt from his mistakes with his team selection against Genk, with Nicolas Raskin someone the ex-Saints boss needs to count on.
Another loss could see the pressure mount on Martin again, and Cavenagh may not be able to ignore it for much longer.
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