Russell Martin has one game to save Rangers job as mortifying new low beckons – sources

Fraser Fletcher 15 Sep 2025 12:01 PM

Russell Martin with cracked Rangers badge

Russell Martin is under huge pressure at Rangers

Rangers Football Club is spiralling into despair, and could incredibly be rock-bottom of the table by the time their next game rolls around, amid claims that Russell Martin is already on the cusp of being sacked at Ibrox.

The Ibrox faithful have reached their breaking point. Saturday’s 2-0 loss to Hearts marked a fifth consecutive league game without a win – a grim milestone not seen since the 1970s. Under Russell Martin, the squad appears broken, devoid of spark, and clueless in execution. Rangers fans are clearly united: it’s time for the manager to go.

Martin’s philosophy, inspired by Pep Guardiola, is seductive in theory – possession-heavy, attacking football that dominates through ball control.

“I want the ball,” he declares, mirroring his mentor’s ethos. At MK Dons, Swansea, and Southampton, his teams averaged 60-70% possession, weaving patient passes to dismantle defences while pressing ferociously to regain possession.

It’s a blueprint of hard work, forward passes, and relentless pressure, culminating in Southampton’s playoff promotion but it also killed them in the Premier League. At Rangers, the same picture is being painted and Martin is the artist.

The cracks are glaring. Martin’s system lacks the pragmatism needed for football’s gritty battles. Defensive transitions are chaotic, exposing a backline bereft of basic organisation.

Players, still grappling with his intricate demands, look lost with the ball, unable to adapt mid-game.

As a fan of high-pressing, possession-based play, I desperately wanted Martin to succeed. But his refusal to tweak – clinging to his “live and die by the sword” mantra – feels naïve when results collapse.

Even Guardiola, the gold standard, employs simple defensive tenets and in-game adaptability. Martin? He’s no Pep.

Ibrox is a cauldron of toxicity, with fans’ anger suffocating the squad. Imagine stepping onto that pitch, greeted by 50,000 expecting failure—it’s soul-crushing.

The new American owners may back their man, but loyalty won’t survive another loss. The next match could see Rangers bottom of the table, another season slipping away, before it’s hardly begun.

Martin, a decent man, faces a brutal reality: adapt or be sacked. Without change, the Ibrox storm will turn uglier still.

The season started with huge enthusiasm, new owners, money being spent and a brighter future on the horizon. However, that bubble has been well and truly burst and the season is now a case of hoping things get better rather than expecting any success.