Kris Boyd’s impassioned rant in full just minutes into Livingston vs Rangers coverage
Rangers have had a woeful start to the season with Russell Martin under huge pressure amid fan protests.
Fans want Martin to be sacked as Rangers have been truly dire under his management, but Andrew Cavenagh has given the manager his backing so far.
Rangers headed into their game at Livingston without a win to their name in the Scottish Premiership, and Martin’s side have been woeful defensively all season.
Former star Kris Boyd has now had his say on the crisis Rangers find themselves in, and launched into a passionate rant before the Livingston clash.
Kris Boyd questions Rangers owners over Russell Martin
Boyd spoke to Sky Sports before the Livingston clash, and called out Cavenagh, Kevin Thelwell, Patrick Stewart and others within the Rangers hierarchy for the situation they find themselves in.
Stewart and Thelwell have also been targeted by fans for their roles in bringing Martin to Ibrox, as well as some questionable transfer decisions.
Speaking just minutes after the match coverage began, Boyd also pointed out that Rangers’ problems go a lot deeper than the manager.
“Listen, I think Russell Martin’s on borrowed time, there’s no getting away from it,” he stated.
“Russell Martin could go on a run right now and win 10 games in a row, and he loses that 11th game, and the fans are gonna be what they are, what they’ll be here today, what they’ve been for weeks now.
| Games managed | 14 |
| Wins | 4 |
| Draws | 6 |
| Losses | 5 |
| Win percentage | 28.57 |
“I don’t think it’s just the last few months. You go back to a period of time now with Rangers, there’s a lot of pressure and demands on the players, but the fans that have grown up to know this football club, to understand this football club, they were used to winning.
“All of a sudden, there’s been a long period where it’s not been there. They want those days back. They thought that because of the takeover of the summer, it was gonna inject a bit of life back into the football club.
“It was gonna be a lot better going forward. It’s not been the case. If anything, it’s been, it’s gotten worse. I mean, I said it yesterday in my column that the old board had their problems. They had their issues, but they backed it.
“They never had fans outside the stadium protesting, or the fans in the stands protesting. Right now, somebody needs to address the problems at Rangers.
“Andrew Cavenagh was in town for the last couple of weeks, and would have seen it through his own eyes. If the board is strong, is he getting fed the right information on what’s going on? Because if you’re on the other side of the pond, then it’s very difficult to understand the whole atmosphere around the club.”
Kris Boyd slams Patrick Stewart and Kevin Thelwell
Boyd went on to call out Stewart and Thelwell, and questioned the logic in hiring Martin over Davide Ancelotti in the first place.
“Patrick Stewart’s got a lot to answer for, and the whole root and branch review of the football club is meant to be done. What are the answers to that? I don’t know. You then look at Russell Martin, he was out of work for a long period of time.
“It was between Russell Martin and Ancelotti to get the job. Russell Martin’s obviously managed a lot of games, but he’s going under a lot of pressure coming to Rangers, Ancelotti is a rookie, and that. I mean, he’s obviously coached for a long time. Why did it take that long to get to that stage?”
“Kevin Thelwell came in as the sporting director. What’s his role in all this? I mean, he’s brought Youssef Chermiti to the football club, there’s no doubt in that, and he’s brought others.
“Dan Purdy, as well, the head of recruitment. So there’s other aspects of Rangers Football Club that are not functioning the way it should.
“Yes, Russell Martin’s the one that’s getting the blame for it, and that’s what happens when you’re the manager of a football club, but there are other aspects of Rangers Football Club failing right now as well, it’s not just the manager.”
Boyd’s rant came after yet another disappointing result in Europe against Genk, with Ibrox getting emptier as fans voted with their feet against Martin, and it is clear that there are other problems within the Rangers hierarchy beyond the under-pressure manager.
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