Rangers hero warns Russell Martin to avoid repeatedly relying on his football philosophy to mask inconsistent form
The Ibrox boss has been called out for continuing to use the excuse of the “process” to explain Rangers struggles
Russell Martin was able to ease some of the relentless pressure on his shoulders with a narrow 2-1 victory over Livingston on Sunday but the under-fire Rangers boss has been told he can't keep relying on the “process” excuse to explain their inconsistent form.
Despite securing his first Premiership win of the season so far in West Lothian courtesy of Max Aarons’ dramatic 94th-minute winner, fans continued to vent their frustrations with chants of “Martin, get to f***” ringing out from the away end at the full-time whistle.
The victory moved the Govan giants up to eighth place in the table, just a few days on from their opening Europa league defeat to Genk on home soil.
Next up for Martin and his players is a trip to Austria to face Sturm Graz in the league phase on Thursday night, and former Gers’ star and coach Alex Rae has warned the 39-year-old that he can't repeatedly lean on his football philosophy behind their topsy-turvy form.
Speaking to PLZ Soccer, Rae stated: “One of the things he keeps saying is 'we have to believe in the process' - but the process has to accelerate.
“You can't afford at Rangers to win a game, draw a game, lose a game - you need to gather momentum. And by momentum, you shift the perspective onto the opposition.
“If Celtic start dropping points like they did at the weekend, if you are on a four or five game winning run, we know how the city works - it's like a pendulum - you can bat it (the pressure) over the road.
“But, for now, it's firmly at his door and it's only through winning games can you get some kind of parity and more fans back on board.”
Scrutiny towards Russell Martin will ‘hurt’ the Rangers boss
Rae, who was previously part of Philippe Clement's backroom staff that faced huge fan backlash in the final days of the Belgian's tenure back in February, believes the pain of supporters scrutiny towards him will linger for Martin - and a “tin helmet” is required to stave off more abuse.
“See this thing about being a Rangers fan; he carries the can for everything,” Rae replied when asked if it “hurt” him emotionally as a diehard Rangers fan to be unable to prevent the club struggles last season.
“At that particular time there was no director of football, there was no CEO and there was no chairman - so it was an actual mess, and he was the figurehead. So whether you are a Rangers fan or not, you get the scrutiny.
“So, the pressure is really on whether you are a Rangers fan or not. But, it was very, very difficult. You need a tin helmet. But I knew that when I came back.”