Landing the biggest job of his career at a time when Rangers were coming under American ownership, there was much to enthuse Russell Martin on arrival at Ibrox a couple of months ago.
With an initial investment of £20million being pumped into the club’s coffers — and a blank canvas on which to create his blueprint — this was a fresh start in a league which, in theory, suited his style of play.
Where Martin had struggled so badly with Southampton at the bottom of the English Premier League last season, life at Rangers would be different.
No longer would he be trying to punch above his weight. In Glasgow, he would be in charge of a team who are expected to dominate on a weekly basis.
His obsession with possession, and insistence on playing out from the back, would suffocate so many of the opponents attempting a low block on the domestic scene.
Before we have even reached mid-August, however, that particular theory is already being questioned. In two Premiership matches so far, Rangers have laboured to a couple of 1-1 draws with Motherwell and Dundee.
Rangers manager Russell Martin won’t allow outside noise to distract him from the job in hand
Lyall Cameron netted in the midweek UEFA Champions League defeat to Viktoria Plzen
Martin’s side made it through to the play-offs but the boss was unhappy with his side’s display
Martin would never have been naive enough to expect a quick fix when he took the job. Tasked with trying to turn around a failing institution, overnight success was never really on the cards. It would take time.
‘Aye, but you don’t get time at the Old Firm.’ That’s a statement so often uttered on radio phone-ins and fan forums, and it remains comfortably the most tiresome and unhelpful cliche in Scottish football.
To be questioning a manager’s future at such an early juncture, as some Rangers supporters have done this week, is a nonsense. Such short-sighted, short-termism has blighted the club for years.
None of this is to say that Martin gets a free pass. Barring the first leg of the Champions League qualifier against Viktoria Plzen at Ibrox, which Rangers won 3-0, the standard of football has been poor.
In the return leg in the Czech Republic in midweek, Rangers were fortunate to go through despite losing 2-1 on the night. Plzen wasted numerous gilt-edged chances and could easily have scored two or three more goals.
Martin admitted afterwards that the performance hadn’t been good enough. He wasn’t trying to pull the wool over anyone’s eyes. He called the game as every other punter saw it.
Indeed, his comments after pretty much every game so far have been honest and accurate. He hasn’t tried to spin an alternative reality, as his predecessors Philippe Clement and Michael Beale would do regularly.
This will take time to get right. The problem is that fans are fed up of hearing it, despite Martin showing more honesty and having a better style of play than the pair before him.
It’s a delicate situation. How does Martin balance the need for patience with the need to show progress and deliver results?
‘I think there’s been an energy around this place for a while, I’m talking inside and outside, it’s just been a lot of disappointment and a lot of frustration and a lot of criticism (of) the players, (of) the club,’ said Martin, whose side face Alloa in the Premier Sports Cup tonight.
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‘Everyone has an opinion; everyone’s entitled to one. So while I’m here, while we are here, our job is to really focus on what we can affect and what we can impact.
‘If we do our jobs to the best of our ability and focus on the work and being better and having really, really high standards that this club should stand for, then I just don’t see how it doesn’t go in the right direction.
‘One of the maintenance guys here this week said: “We’re turning a tanker around, gaffer, and it will just take some time, but when we get it going…”.
‘I thought it was a perfect analogy.
‘He’s a great guy. He was here when I was here before (as a player). I don’t want to embarrass him but, honestly, when he said that, I was like: “No, you’re right. We just qualified for the Champions League (play-off).”.
‘I spoke to the staff last Sunday after Dundee because everyone here supports the club and they really feel things.
A late James Tavernier penalty rescued a point for Rangers against Dundee last time out
‘But our job in here is to try and just work, not let the outside noise affect how we work. It just can’t.’
Earlier this week, former Rangers midfielder Halliday was scathing in his criticism of some of the performances under Martin so far.
Halliday, who was a team-mate during Martin’s loan spell at Ibrox back in 2018, claimed on a podcast that the manager’s tactical approach was leaving Rangers badly short of numbers in attack and devoid of creativity.
‘You’ll ask me about Andy Halliday’s criticism at some point, I am sure, but it can’t impact the work we do,’ said Martin.
‘We need to be really consistent in the process here. We need to be really consistent in our behaviour, be really consistent in what we’re asking them to do.
‘And then that consistency will show up on the pitch. I’ve been in this situation at every club we’ve been at. This is why I can sit here calmly and tell you what I think is going to happen next.
‘We just have to trust the work and trust each other. And I’ve spoken to the players relentlessly about that.
‘And I can see what’s coming with them, how they’re growing into the culture we’re trying to build, how they’re adapting to it, and that’s why I’m excited about what’s going to come.’
Pressed on whether he had an issue with Halliday’s comments, Martin said: ‘No, I like Andy. Everyone is entitled to an opinion. I regard him as a really good ex-team-mate and a good person and I like him.
‘So I’m sure at some point we’ll have a coffee in the West End and we’ll sit down and discuss some. I know he wants to coach at some point.
‘But when you work in the media, you have to give an opinion, right? So I’ve got absolutely no problem with it at all. Although I have never said we’re going to play with inverted full-backs, I have told him that.’
New signing Thelo Aasgaard is in line to make his debut for his new club this weekend
With a Champions League play-off clash with Club Brugge to come on Tuesday, Martin will rotate his squad against Alloa.
New signings Thelo Aasgaard and Mikey Moore are both available and could make their debuts, with Hamza Igamane also fit again and ready to play.
‘It’s a nice position to be in,’ added Martin. ‘We’ll see how many minutes they’ll get on the pitch, but they’ll all be back involved.
‘We’re not going to make 11 changes. So there’ll be a chance for some people to play, for sure, but there are also some people who need to keep building and keep improving their performance.
‘But, yeah, I’m looking forward to (seeing) some of the guys that will get opportunities, whether it’s starting, whether it’s coming off the bench, to see what they can bring us and how they can help us
‘With Thelo and Mikey, I think they’ll be top players, I really do. So much talent, character, courage to take the ball, creative, but really willing to run, physically both very good. So I think they’ll help us a lot.’
