Russell Martin ripped to shreds on American TV as Rangers embarrassment goes global
Russell Martin’s position as Rangers manager has been put under further scrutiny following a 2-1 loss against SK Sturm Graz in their second Europa League match of the season.
Rangers lost their opening Europa League match against Genk and failed to capitalise on their opportunity to rebound.
After Rangers scraped a 2-1 victory against Livingston, the signs of a U-turn under Martin have once again dwindled as they fell to defeat in Austria.
Rangers were criticised for their defeat in Europe, and pundits continue to ramp the pressure up on the ex-Premier League manager.
Nigel Reo-Coker left in disbelief over Russell Martin
In his post-match press conference, Martin noted that his players did not have the correct mentality in their loss and cited it as a reason for their defeat.
The Rangers manager was disappointed in his players and thought they could have done better in executing his vision.
But speaking on CBS Sports Golazo in the United States as Rangers’ embarrassing season goes on, Nigel Reo-Coker could not believe what he was hearing from Martin, and thought his comments did not suffice as a good enough excuse.
He said: “He talks about mentality. You’re hired as manager; your job is to fix that. You’re supposed to be the mental setter.
“Your job is to manage this team, fix it.
“You can’t be telling us about the mentality is not there, the set-pieces, that’s your job, what are you doing then?
“Tell us, ‘I’m going to fix the mentality, it’s not good enough, we didn’t perform, we need to do better, we need to compete, and I’m going to make it work’. Don’t tell us the obvious of what we have just seen.”
Rangers have conceded 60 goals in 44 games in all competitions, the highest they have conceded in a single year since 1961.
Akin to Nigel Reo-Coker’s slamming of Martin’s post-match comments, Kenny McLean also called out Derek Cornelius for his words after the defeat.
Weak excuses that spell the end for Russell Martin
After Martin’s appointment in June, the 39-year-old was given a whole summer to bring in the players he wanted, to work his the existing squad, and most importantly, instil his footballing philosophy.
But as the football season has transitioned to Autumn, it is difficult to see many redeeming qualities coming from the players on the pitch, and they are in need of a reset.
Martin will have to pull off something close to a miracle to save his job, and even if the Gers manage to boost their league form, the supporters will not accept sloppy performances such as their Rangers’ defeat against SK Sturm Graz.
| Falkirk | A |
| Dundee United | H |
| SK Brann | A |
| Kilmarnock | H |
| Hibernian | A |
In a regular season where Ibrox is bouncing and dreams of winning another league title are being crafted, supporters would expect a bare minimum of four wins from their next five matches.
Although a manager has every manager has the right to call out their players, the comments made by Martin will not be well received in the Rangers camp.
Divisions continue to grow at Ibrox, and after each game, the indication for a new manager grows with it.
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