Rangers players true feelings on Celtic escape Ibrox dressing room as 49ers 'marker' goes beyond £40m gauntlet
Former Rangers defender Colin Hendry insists the Ibrox dressing room are "fed up" watching Celtic dominate Scottish football.
And he insists the new owners 49ers Enterprises will know Russell Martin 's real task is to dethrone the Hoops - not the Champions League clash with Panathinaikos.
Back in 2021, Hendry was left impressed by Martin during his time at MK Dons as he discussed a move for his son Callum from St Johnstone to the English Football League side.
The transfer didn't materialise but the ex-Scotland international has continued to track the progress of Martin - and is delighted to see him in the Ibrox hot seat.
But he reckons that the route to Europe's elite competition and a £40million league phase jackpot doesn't matter as much to Martin and the Rangers' support as catching Brendan Rodgers' men.
And he reckons he knows exactly how James Tavernier and Co will feel about watching Callum McGregor regularly bring silverware to Celtic Park.
Hendry told The Sunday Post: "Russell would have been 34 or 35 at the time and it was his first few weeks in the job at MK Dons.
"We met for an hour and I was impressed. He was young, he was enthusiastic and he was honest. Russell showed me that he had something about him. I left the meeting thinking that I was going to follow his career.
"There is no doubt Russell will have learned so much from those four or five months in the EPL (with Southampton). Rangers will get the benefit of that.
"It is not going to be easy for him, that's for sure. It's a massive ask to go to Rangers and turn them into title winners. But that's what he has signed up for.
"He knows the level of expectation and he knows that he will need to deliver. Rangers is a massive football club and they want success. They are fed up seeing Celtic being so dominant.
"The Champions League tie against Panathinaikos will be important, of course it is. But the true marker is what the club does in the Premiership.
"Winning the league is what truly matters. Last season, the team showed that they could beat Celtic. But the true marker is what the club does in the Premiership.
"But it was going to Motherwell, St Mirren and Hibernian. They are the fixtures where they faltered. They need to get that right.
"I found it tough psychologically, with the demands of having to win but not just by one goal. No, the fans wanted us to win by three or four.
"That's what Rangers is about. But that kind of pressure isn't for everyone. Whether a manager or a player, you need to have something special about you to cope with that every week.
"It's been clear in the past decade or so that too many people at Rangers haven't been up to the task and it needs to change."
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