Russell Martin (June to October 2025)
If Russell Martin’s 17 appearances for the club as a player had been underwhelming, his 17 competitive fixtures as head coach of Rangers were, in the main, abysmal. Appointed on 5th June 2025 and described as “the outstanding candidate”, exactly 4 months later he was axed. For many, it should have happened six weeks sooner. As it was, it is still the shortest reign of any permanent Gers boss.
With the interim management quartet of Barry Ferguson, Billy Dodds, Neil McCann and Allan McGregor having been thanked for their efforts during the final weeks of the 2024/25 campaign, Rangers unveiled Martin as the new man at the helm. Whilst by no means a popular appointment amongst the support, a change in direction was something that most fans were willing to get behind as they craved a more settled future under new American ownership.
The appointment was certainly not rushed; Martin was apparently interviewed on no less than 7 occasions before finally being offered the top job. Davide Ancelotti, the son of Italian legend Carlo, appeared to be the other front runner whilst Ferguson himself expressed a keenness to extend his stay in the dugout. In terms of managerial careers, none of those candidates were likely to enjoy unanimous approval ratings.
Kevin Thelwell, the recently installed Rangers Sporting Director, described Martin’s previous sides (MK Dons, Swansea City and Southampton) as those which “play dominant football”, “press aggressively” and “work relentlessly off the ball”. Along with CEO Patrick Stewart, it was Thelwell who led the led the search for the new boss. Stewart added “we expect success and Russell knows that. We are excited for his leadership”. Those less swayed by Martin’s clear ability to ‘talk a good game’ were more concerned with a win rate of less than 40% at two of those clubs and to his most recent dismissal from Southampton whom he left rooted at the bottom of the table with 1 win in 16 league matches. It was not the obvious track record of a coach who would now be expected to win every single match.
Once again, Rangers had been forced into a major overhaul of the playing staff during the close season. Whilst many expressed concerns over certain incomings, it would be unfair to lay that squarely at the door of Martin. However, there did seem to be a growing feeling that Martin himself believed recruiting ‘project players’ would be enough to succeed in Scotland. It was reminiscent of the ill-fated Paul Le Guen ‘era’.
As always, the Rangers support turned out in their numbers to back the new manager and team. However, even by half time in the first pre-season match with Club Brugge it was clear that Martin had a lot to do to win over a less than enamoured home support who had watched the visitors race into a 2-0 lead inside the opening 13 minutes. The Belgian side would take their foot off the gas on this occasion, but the outcome would be very different when the sides met for real 2 months later.
The competitive era under Martin commenced on 22nd July when Panathinaikos arrived in Glasgow for a UEFA Champions League qualifier. Although riding their luck and relying heavily on the heroics of Butland in goal over the two games, Rangers went through 3-1 on aggregate which guaranteed European league football. It was a huge achievement; the draw could scarcely have been tougher at that early stage of the competition. The Greeks having been reduced to 10 men at Ibrox had unquestionably been a decisive factor.
Martin’s bigger problems began on the opening day of the league campaign as his disjointed side stuttered to a 1-1 draw at Fir Park despite having taken an early lead over Motherwell through James Tavernier. With Raskin having been moved out of position to accommodate Rothwell, too many Gers players looked uncomfortable in seemingly unfamiliar roles and the performance consisted of mind-numbing endless passes with zero end product. Post match, Martin publicly slated his players accusing them of ‘self-preservation’ and ‘doing their own thing’ before telling them to ‘drop their ego’. When Viktoria Plzen arrived in Glasgow 3 days later, Tavernier and Raskin had both been relegated to the bench, fuelling speculation that Martin’s blast had been aimed primarily at them. Was this an attempt to force the two out of Ibrox during the transfer window?
A strong home performance versus Plzen was followed by another league draw with Dundee. Although progressing to the UEFA Champions League play-off, Martin’s side were fortunate not to blow a three-goal cushion against the Czechs. Rangers faced an incredible 27 shots in the return leg and, despite Martin’s insistence of progress, it was clear to all Gers fans that a heavy defeat was incoming the moment his side faced more clinical opposition. That duly arrived when Club Brugge returned to Ibrox. Trailing 0-3 after just 20 minutes, the tie was already over as thousands headed for the exit almost in disbelief at what they were watching. In truth, the players looked completely lost. In typical fashion, Martin clung on to a marginally better second half showing insisting there was better to come after another learning experience. By half time in the second leg, his side were trailing 5-0 and crashed out 9-1 on aggregate. It was a complete humiliation.
There was a recurring theme, Martin never appeared to accept any blame post-match. It was never down to his tactics. He talked of anxiety, of poor mentality amongst certain players. For those who had listened to Martin at his previous clubs, all these excuses sounded very familiar. With results massively below expectations, he instead talked about how much he was improving things behind the scenes and how great the players were in training. With every passing post-match press conference, the lack of substance was becoming increasingly apparent. Rightly or wrongly, the fan base perceived Martin as arrogant. His refusal to honour the long-standing managerial tradition of wearing a suit, shirt and tie on match day may have seemed a non-issue to some, but to many it demonstrated an attitude of his view being the only one that mattered.
The result in Belgium should have led to Martin’s instant dismissal but, typically, the Rangers hierarchy allowed the situation to deteriorate further. Once again, there was an insistence that they could not keep sacking managers only for them to capitulate a few weeks down the line. It did Martin absolutely no favours, delaying the inevitable outcome became almost excruciating to watch as Martin was subjected to the most appalling levels of abuse in an effort to force the required change. With Stewart and Thelwell also now in the firing line, the pressure was mounting.
Martin consistently talked about the inevitability of pain during such a period of transition but, in truth, there were no obvious signs of progress. If results were undeniably poor, performances levels were generally worse. From the outside, there did appear to be a distinct lack of harmony from within the Ibrox dressing room. Igamane’s refusal to take to the pitch at Paisley was followed up by a more public falling out between Raskin and Martin. This resulted in the Belgian midfielder being banished from the goalless draw with Celtic. With the support chanting Raskin’s name during the game, it was crystal clear who the fans were backing. Rothwell appeared to support the notion that he too was being constantly played out of position, Aarons on the face of it suffering a confidence crisis having been asked to do something similar. A team bonding session in Loch Lomond gave the impression of a manufactured show of unity, opening Martin up to further ridicule.
Having failed to win any of the opening 5 league matches, it took an injury time winner at Livingston to move Rangers off second bottom place in the table. Even in victory, the support immediately rounded on Martin making it clear his time was still up. Another Europa League defeat (resulting in 0 points from 2 games) followed by a draw at newly promoted Falkirk finally prompted some action within Ibrox corridors of power. Hours after failing to win for the sixth time in seven league matches, Martin was sacked with his dysfunctional side languishing in 8th place, 11 points behind leaders Hearts. A win rate of 29% was even poorer than Martin’s previous managerial statistics and, of course, simply unacceptable for any Rangers manager.
by Rick Plews
