Russell Martin seems to accept Rangers sack is imminent after press conference reveal
Rangers continued their poor form this season as they were defeated 2-1 in their first Europa League away tie against SK Sturm Graz.
The pressure on Russell Martin has been turned up further after Gers fell to another loss under the ex-Premier League manager.
The Glasgow outfit once again held the majority of the possession, but failed to materialise it into anything as Rangers slumped to defeat against Sturm Graz in Austria.
Jack Butland was slammed for his poor performance, but Martin sees wider issues across his squad.
Russell Martin questions mentality of Rangers squad
Ally McCoist rightly claimed Rangers were horrendous in their defeat as their hosts were gifted the opening goal after just seven minutes.
Martin’s side conceded for the 23rd game in a row, which surpassed a record that formerly stood for 128 years.
In his post-match press conference, as per the Rangers Review, the 39-year-old took aim at his players and seemed to accept they are unable to take his lessons on board.
He said: “It is concentration, it’s mentality.
“So for our throw-in, we work on them a lot. It’s a big part of the game. If we do what we work on a lot and that doesn’t come off, as a coach, it’s like, okay, that’s fine. It’s acceptable, we need to try and find it.
“But actually, we don’t, we just throw it down the line. Youssef [Chermiti] has to fight, and then we’re so open. So if you’re going to throw it down the line, you need to get together a little bit and close the gap. But we’re actually set up to do what we want to do and what we work on and don’t do it.
“And then the second one is, at any level you play at, you have to be alert and you have to be bright. And they just don’t help.”
It seems he has already, but if not Martin must surely accept on this basis that whatever he is attempting is simply not working with this group of players.
Rangers are forced to contend with another away trip ahead of their league clash against Falkirk as they try to cling on to whatever hope remains in their camp.
To make matters worse, their next Europa League tie is also away from home, as Gers face a trip to Norway to play SK Brann with their fate in the competition hanging by a thread.
Russell Martin can blame the players but it will not save his job
In Martin’s situation, it can be easy to blame his squad.
He is a manager who has a distinct vision and style of play, and if players do not cooperate with this, then it can be very frustrating for a coach.
It seems Rangers’ current squad and Martin’s managerial approach is a case of a square peg in a round hole, and it is not going to get any better for either side.
- Rangers are the lowest scorers in the Scottish Premiership
- The Light Blues are currently eighth in the league
- They still have to face Braga, Porto, and Roma in the Europa League
It appears hopes of a league title have already been dashed out of the window, and the calendar has only switched to October.
That means Rangers’ only hope – with the exception of domestic cups – is the Europa League, meaning a change has to be made.
Some could argue Martin needs to be given time to have the right squad, but he was given a whole summer transfer window to build the team he wants, and the ex-Southampton boss has not delivered.
The situation is too late to resolve for Martin, and it is only a matter of time before he vacates the dugout at Ibrox.
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