Former Sir Alex Ferguson aide at Manchester United claims Russell Martin is 'under sack pressure' at Rangers
The former chief scout, turned transfer expert thinks Martin’s days may be numbered as Rangers boss
After a disastrous result in Europe last night to Club Brugge, Russell Martin’s position at Rangers is on a shoogly peg. The Govan side were beaten 9-1 on aggregate against the Belgian giants, in what was a humiliating end to their Champions League dream.
What will annoy Rangers fans even more is that the Brugge result is not an isolated incident. Rangers have picked up three points in three games in the SPFL Premiership and could go nine points behind Celtic, if they were to lose the Old Firm on Sunday.
In what has been the worst ever start for a Rangers manager in recent memory, a former chief scout, with experience of working with Sir Alex Ferguson and Ron Atkinson believes time could be up for the Rangers gaffer.
Martin ‘already under sack pressure’ says Mick Brown
There are few men left in the game that are as well-connected as Mick Brown. The 86-year old has worked for Manchester United, Sunderland, Tottenham, Aston Villa amongst others and has had practically every job available in the game.
Football expert, Brown, thinks that Russell Martin’s back is already against the wall at Ibrox. Speaking to Football Insider, he said: “Russell Martin is already under sack pressure. At a club like Rangers, you don’t have the start to the season they’ve had without some serious questions being asked about the reasons for that.
“He’s very much the type of manager who expects things to be done his way. Sometimes that’s good, it can give you a direction, but not when those things aren’t working.” Whilst Martin wasn’t sacked immediately after the Brugge match, a loss on Sunday may be the final straw.
‘Principles’ leading to Martin’s downfall
One aspect of Russell Martin’s management style that he’s been criticised for wherever he’s been is his refusal to change tactics, even when results aren’t going well. This has happened not just at Rangers, but at Southampton too, where his team conceded 86 goals in the Premier League last season, accruing only 12 points.
Brown thinks that the Rangers boss’ unwillingness to change could lead to his demise. He said: “we saw at Southampton he refused to deviate from the style of play despite giving goals away left, right and centre, and now he’s struggling at Rangers.
“I don’t think he’ll be sacked immediately by any means, but the warning signs are there. I’m all for having principles you want to stick by, but when you’re insisting on a certain way of playing that is not working, something has to change.
“If he’s not willing to make changes for the better of the team, then somebody else might have to. He hasn’t been at Rangers long enough to see if he’s learnt from that Southampton spell, but he will need to show improvements soon because he’s under pressure.”
Rangers will face their bitter rivals, Celtic at 12 noon on Sunday in what will be the first Old Firm derby of the season. However, if things go badly for Russell Martin it could very well be his last.