'no Quick Fix' As Martin Faces Familiar Rangers Problems

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09/08/2025

New ownership, a caller caput coach, astir a afloat squad of caller players, but nan man charged pinch improving fortunes connected nan transportation has been near insisting location is "no speedy fix" aft acquainted failings reappeared to blight Rangers astatine nan commencement of nan caller season.

Russell Martin's rebuilt broadside stay unbeaten successful 5 games nether nan erstwhile Southampton boss.

But 2 of those person been draws successful their opening matches successful nan Scottish Premiership - thing nan erstwhile Rangers defender knows is not bully capable for a broadside expecting to situation reigning champions Celtic for nan title.

Lauded for their 3-0 triumph complete Viktoria Plzen successful Champions League qualifying connected Tuesday, nan aforesaid Rangers players were booed disconnected aft escaping conclusion acknowledgment to a precocious punishment against a Dundee broadside galore expected to beryllium lambs to nan slaughter.

It is simply a acquainted communicative from erstwhile regimes that Martin says will "just return immoderate time" to change, truthful wherever does that time off Rangers and their caller squad boss?

Having vanished 17 points adrift of their metropolis rivals past season, Rangers are already a 1 down Celtic earlier Brendan Rodgers' broadside play their crippled successful manus successful Aberdeen connected Sunday.

If Rangers get done their Euro necktie aft Tuesday's 2nd limb against Plzen, they will postpone nan convention lucifer against St Mirren connected 24 August to hole for nan play-off tie, which intends they could beryllium 7 down by nan clip Celtic sojourn Ibrox nan pursuing week.

They could person been moreover worse off. It tin beryllium based on they were fortunate to flight Motherwell pinch a constituent past weekend, while Rangers had to play nan last half hr against Dundee pinch 10 men earlier skipper James Tavernier came disconnected nan chair to rescue different pinch his precocious spot kick.

A "disappointed" Martin admitted: "There was conscionable wide lethargy and nary velocity successful nan first half."

After past week's tie astatine Fir Park, Martin had questioned nan mentality of immoderate of his players, complaining that immoderate "have to driblet their ego", and was delighted pinch nan guidance against Plzen.

This time, he was "pleased pinch nan consequence of nan squad erstwhile we went down to 10 men and we could've won nan crippled successful nan end, but nan mentality has to travel from nan very first footwear of nan match".

Martin accepted immoderate of nan blame, admitting: "In hindsight, I should've made immoderate changes to inject that power successful nan team, but I explained my determination earlier nan crippled and possibly I could've changed that now nan crippled is finished.

"We're learning astir nan group each nan time, truthful that's a instruction learnt today."

BBC pundit and erstwhile Rangers striker described them arsenic "Jekyll and Hyde" but pointed retired that nan aforesaid happened nether nan erstwhile 2 squad bosses - Philippe Clement and Barry Ferguson - past season.

"They would person a superb European capacity and past autumn flat," he told BBC Scotland's Sportscene. "It is thing Russell Martin needs to get free of quickly."

Saturday's tie was peculiarly galling to Rangers fans considering Dundee arrived pinch a mediocre commencement to their play heaping unit connected their caller caput coach, erstwhile Rangers defender Steven Pressley.

Dundee, who managed conscionable 2 attempts connected extremity successful their opening Premiership conclusion astatine location to Hibernian, had not beaten Rangers successful their erstwhile 17 meetings and had mislaid their latest 19 visits to Ibrox.

The passing style being adopted nether Martin meant centre-half John Souttar attempted 131 passes successful this game, nan highest of immoderate subordinate successful nan opening 2 weekends, nan squad wide attempted 709, again nan highest of immoderate team, and their 20 extremity attempts were highest too.

Yet they still relied connected a punishment to rescue a tie and person now grounded to triumph some of their opening 2 convention matches for nan first clip since 1989.

Martin could understand nan guidance of nan location support.

"The fans person lacked nan occurrence they want for rather immoderate time, truthful I understand nan frustration," he said. "I didn't get excessively precocious connected Tuesday, truthful we're not going to get excessively debased today.

"We are astatine a constituent now astatine this nine wherever thing needed to change.

"The ownership has changed, there's a caller coaching staff, there's caller players, there's hopefully a caller measurement of behaving successful nan training crushed - properly, each azygous day, regarding standards and what's expected astatine this shot club. So it's not a speedy hole and this is not maine coming retired and making excuses.

"I deliberation we alteration nan head from twelvemonth to twelvemonth and thing really changes.

"So now it's astir really changing nan civilization and nan consciousness of nan nine time successful and time out. That will extremity up successful a bully outcome. Good process, bully people, will ever extremity up successful a bully outcome. But possibly not truthful quickly arsenic everyone wants."

Former Rangers striker and adjunct leader Billy Dodds told BBC Radio Scotland's Sportsound: "Russell Martin wants nan players to put their egos to furniture and ore connected nan football.

"But I deliberation they request much egos astatine nan nine because egos travel pinch apical players.

"It took a man being sent disconnected to get them going, but they deserved that tie successful nan extremity because they kept going astatine it."

Like past season, Rangers recovered it difficult to break down a squad domestically who sat backmost to take sides their punishment container astatine Ibrox - and Thompson gave in installments to Pressley.

"He has had a batch of instrumentality successful nan early portion of nan season, but he sewage his strategies spot on," he said.

Right-back Tavernier and midfielder Nicolas Raskin were 2 of 4 players dropped successful midweek and were again connected nan chair against Dundee.

However, Tavernier came connected to beryllium his goalscoring worthy erstwhile more, while Martin admitted that "Raskin was awesome erstwhile he crippled on. He tackled much than nan full team".

Meanwhile, centre-half Nasser Djiga is now successful statement to miss nan Old Firm derby done suspension aft his last-man reddish paper against Dundee.

It leaves Martin pinch questions complete his unit arsenic matches travel heavy and fast.

Former Rangers guardant Gordon Smith pointed retired that Rangers were amended erstwhile down to 10 men and were unfortunate that Cyriel Dessers was denied a precocious victor for offside.

However, he was near pondering: "How tin they put that benignant of capacity successful Europe and not successful nan league?"

It is simply a conundrum that Martin is not nan first Rangers squad leader to person faced.