Where does Russell Martin rank among the worst Rangers managers in history?
Russell Martin was sacked as Rangers manager following the 1-1 draw with Falkirk on Sunday.
Martin was hounded out by Rangers fans, who were furious with the team’s performance in both domestic and European competitions.
Rangers’ elimination from the Champions League playoffs to Club Brugge was disastrous and marked the moment that the majority of fans started to turn on Martin.
Whilst Andrew Cavenagh must find another manager quickly, the dark cloud that has gathered over Ibrox in the past few months will have started to fade following Martin’s departure.
Russell Martin is statistically the worst Rangers manager of all time
Martin’s record at Southampton in the Premier League didn’t strike confidence into the Rangers fans, as he won one of his 17 Premier League matches before being sacked.
With Martin managing just one win out of seven in the Scottish Premiership for Rangers, his sacking was inevitable.
In comparison to other permanent Rangers managers, Martin ranks as the worst of them all.
| Stat | Russell Martin: 2025 | Jock Wallace: 1983-1986 | Paul Le Guen: 2006-2007 | John Greig: 1978-1983 | Pedro Caixinha: 2017 |
| Games managed | 17 | 124 | 31 | 288 | 26 |
| Wins | 5 | 55 | 16 | 150 | 14 |
| Draws | 6 | 36 | 8 | 71 | 5 |
| Losses | 6 | 33 | 7 | 67 | 7 |
| Win percentage | 29.41 | 43.65 | 51.61 | 52.08 | 53.85 |
There are a number of reasons for this, most importantly, the lack of adaptability he showed when up against different teams.
Martin’s style of play remained constant throughout, and teams found it easy to play against Rangers on the counter-attack.
Defensive woes for Rangers in Europe not only cost Martin in matches, but they also had huge financial implications for Cavenagh.
This marks the fifth season in a row where Rangers will finish a season with a different manager to the one who started the campaign.
Russell Martin becomes the shortest permanent Rangers manager in history
Not only has he got the worst win percentage in charge of Rangers, but he has broken another record for all the wrong reasons.
Martin’s reign is the shortest of any of the 20 permanent managers in the history of Rangers, eclipsing Paul Le Guen, who was axed after 186 days.
This is not a surprise in the slightest, as fan protests played a huge part in forcing Cavenagh’s hand.
Over 12,000 Rangers fans boycotted the Genk match, whilst pre-match protests were staged ahead of the Premier Sports Cup tie against Hibernian.
Fan anger would have continued, and Cavenagh couldn’t financially afford to see Ibrox with empty seats week in, week out.
The onus is on Cavenagh to appoint the right manager this time around, with scrutiny now amplified on the Rangers board.
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