Russell Martin faces 'unfair' Rangers reality but fans will turn pronto if he doesn't hit the ground running

Daily Record

18-07-2025

One former Scotland international has warned Martin what he is up against in Govan
Russell Martin's new look Rangers will need to get off to a flying start to stop fans from quickly getting disgruntled.
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That's the view of former Scotland and Chelsea star Pat Nevin who does however admit that he is 'intrigued' by what the former Southampton boss has got going on.
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Martin has revamped the squad at Ibrox with seven new faces including Norway international Thelo Aasgaard and Wolves loanee defender Nasser Dijga.
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The ex Scotland international is renowned for his possession-based style of football that encourages his team to play out from the back at all times and that proved to be his downfall last season with the 39-year-old getting the sack back in December with his side sitting rock-bottom of the table.
Martin's first competitive game in charge comes in a crunch Champions League qualifier against Greek giants Panathinaikos at Ibrox next Tuesday, with the return fixture coming eight days later.
Gers will kick-off their Premiership campaign with a trip to Motherwell on August 2 and Nevin insists that punters in the stands could turn on Martin if he doesn't hit the ground running.
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Speaking to Compare.bet, he said: "Am I thinking Rangers are going to win the title? No, not yet. Because Celtic have got so many advantages over Rangers at the moment. But Russell, what will be intriguing and the thing I'm most interested in is the style.
"Russell's played a certain style which is lovely as long as you're winning. And then you're not winning, fans get very, very, very angry about it. And Rangers fans will get angry very quickly if it's not winning.
"They'll get really angry with that system because it looks dull and it looks predictable. But it's very considered. We all know what it is. We've watched it. It didn't work in the Premier League but it did work before.
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"But the expectation at Rangers is you don't keep on doing the process when you're 2-0 down to Falkirk."
Nevin does however admit that that the dominance from the other half of Glasgow in recent seasons has made Martin's task even more daunting.
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'Rangers have got to be winning the league", he added. "It is so unfair. Celtic have got so many advantages. They've been in the Champions League for so long.
"They've got so much more money behind them. They have got that base with the good managers that they've had with Brendan Rodgers and Ange Postecoglou before it. They have got so many more advantages.
"Rangers, they're a big club. They're obviously financially better off than any other club in Scotland apart from Celtic. But you're asking so much. They've come back from a long way down, we all know that. But for Russell, in my eyes, if you challenge for the title right up to the end, well done, you deserve another year, mate. Well done.
'Whether the Rangers fans will put up with that, I don't know. But in my eyes that should be good enough to let them build for a couple of years. That's what I think. But that's just not what it's like up here, I'm afraid. It's just not what it is.
"There has been an astonishing amount of change at Rangers. Not just the manager, but the moves out. Rangers fans' heads must have been spinning. Really, Leon Balogun and Tom Lawrence, Ianis Hagi and Vaclav Cerny all going. These are players that were playing all the time - gone.
'"ut they brought a whole bunch of players in as well. Lyall Cameron's come in as well, which is a very interesting one actually. Down south you go, really? Is he that all? Up here that can make a difference. That can make a big difference. So, it's interesting."