'He has to go now' - heat on Rangers boss Martin

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14 hours ago

It was a Rangers performance so lamentable it had fans leaving Ibrox before half-time - and questions being asked of Russell Martin's future at full-time.
Martin has only been in charge since June and the season only began in earnest a month ago, but the new manager is already under serious pressure.
The 3-1 humbling by Club Brugge does not just leave Rangers' Champions League hopes hanging by a thread, it has also cast doubt on Martin's future as manager within three months of him taking over.
We asked Rangers fans for their verdict on their team and their manager, and they were unsurprisingly vigorous in their responses...
'Please resign, Mr Martin'
Russell Bremner: Russell Martin needs to go before he is sacked.
Michael Kearney: Too early into his tenure as Rangers manager for him to be sacked? Normally I would agree, however what we are seeing on a game-by-game basis is quite possibly the worst Rangers team we have ever seen. Nobody fears us. Nobody fears coming to Ibrox. It's still early in the season - if we act now it's possible we can recover... but not with Martin as manager. He has to go, and go now.
Kevin Ord: Not sure Martin has anything to be proud of, another mountain to climb away from home again. Far too many players just not good enough.
Michael Beck: Team selection all wrong. We needed energy in the middle of the park, which [Lyall] Cameron would have given. [Mikey] Moore should have started. Martin can talk up his philosophy until the cows come home but it just won't work. The players don't buy into it, therefore it's dead in the water. Teams know how to play against Rangers. A high press forces the defence deeper and the mistake will come.
Lorna Stenhouse: Russell Martin reverts back to "the way the club has been for many years" in nearly every interview as one of the reasons the club is not moving forward and this needs fixed. I'd like him to clarify what is he trying to fix? What has been going on?
William MacFarlane: The manager has to go now. He is poor and not a Rangers manager - let him go. The team is poor but he has to go.
Callum Carmichael: I never thought Martin was the right manager for us from day one but having appointed him I was prepared to back him until things went wrong. Things have now gone wrong in a dramatic way and the fact that he won't change his style of play means that it's the end for him. Please resign, Mr Martin.
Kevin Sandison: Not even close to being good enough. A lack of tactical knowledge from the manager means he is already on very thin ice. Failure to beat St Mirren, get a better result in Belgium and then the Old Firm could see him out of work on 1 September.
Peter Cooper White: All my years watching Rangers, it's one of the craziest 20 minutes I've witnessed. Then after the game Martin said he was proud of his team. He is so deluded it beggars believe. The board must give him an ultimatum; improve quickly or you're off.
John Walker: Said it from the beginning - worst appointment Rangers could have made. Russell Martin is a joke - he should have stayed down in the lower Leagues in England, possibly the National League, and he might have won the odd game.
Andy Cumming: The fans didn't want Martin and he's turning this Rangers side into a carbon copy of his Southampton side. Look how open and terrible they were. How could he have been the outstanding candidate for the job? And whoever employed him should get moved on too.
Charlie Low: An utter shambles. I have seen U-15 teams better organised defensively. Our defenders are too slow and erratic. We have players who have no passion for our club and our manager is as bad as Paul le Guen - and he was atrocious. What were our new owners thinking when they picked him? His track record is poor.
Owen Lawson: The appointment of Martin was very strange given his dreadful performance at his previous club. No other form of employment rewards failure like football does. Giving the manager time won't work when his ideology is not suited to Rangers, who must win every game. P45 must be issued soon if this season is to bring any form of success.
Colin Gardiner: Worst Rangers team I have seen and the manager must go if we get beaten in our next two games.
Dave King: Absolute shambles, he's got to go. He doesn't seem to know what his best 11 is and what his tactics are. Embarrassing.
Paul: One shot on target all night. Russell Martin says the tie isn't over and will relish being underdogs as will his players. He honestly thinks with that defence, they will go to Belgium and not concede and score more than two? Honestly, he's just a total embarrassment to himself, his family and his club.
Jim Foster: Martin hasn't got a plan B. After they lose the next three games, he is gone!
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Minority report: The case for Martin
Tim M: Every Rangers fan should listen to and absorb Russell Martin's post-match news conference. He is exactly right: whenever the club has been successful over the last 10 years has been pure vibes and occasional individual brilliance. You cannot simply will a club into being successful these days based on history. If you want to build a dynasty you need to build it.
Sadly fans just want instant success and have a sense of entitlement largely because the domestic league is so weak. Rangers are only at the start of building something, and they need to do it properly if they want to break the cycle that has seen Celtic win 12 of last 13 league titles. Give Martin the time to deliver on the pitch.
David Murdoch: Going to go against the grain here and say this tie isn't over. We outplayed them in the second half after our horror start and we were unlucky not to get another goal. It is a big ask, but I back this team to go over there and get a result.
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