Rangers have had a torrid start to life under Russell Martin as they are winless in the Scottish Premiership, and their dreams of Champions League qualification were ruthlessly put to the sword by Club Brugge in a 9-1 defeat on aggregate.
Rangers have only recorded wins in the League Cup and in their failed Champions League qualification campaign during Martin’s tenure, ramping up the pressure on a managerial selection many fans disdained from day one.
It’s not just early days for Martin, it’s also early days for Rangers’ new owners, Andrew Cavenagh and 49ers Enterprises. And with the frustration mounting around Ibrox, The I Paper’s chief football correspondent, Daniel Storey, has highlighted how the new men in charge face something of a time bomb as tensions continue to bubble:
“Cavenagh and vice-chairman Paraag Marathe were at Ibrox on Sunday. They saw the poor fare, they heard the boos, and they will not have missed the banners of dissent.
“There are two ways to react to a mistake: concede the error quickly, aim to rectify it, communicate with honesty and in doing so regain some trust from your people, or double down and persevere in the hope of being proven right. Until now, Rangers supporters have wondered how long until Martin goes. Soon that will warp into: ‘Why have they not made a change yet?'”
Three out of work managers Rangers could sign
There are options available should Rangers decide to make a change after witnessing the fan sentiment first hand on Sunday. They wouldn’t be the first club to take drastic measures, as the likes of José Mourinho, Ole Gunnar Solskjær, and Erik ten Hag have all been sacked in the opening month of the season
Mourinho could actually be a contender to replace Martin if the owners did decide to act. He has previously expressed that he doesn’t want his next club to be in the Champions League, which Martin has seen too, and has also spoken positively about the Gers in the past: “Why not in the future? People can say the Scottish league is a league of two teams, but it is a league of passion. Passion in football is everything.”
Another candidate is the former Borussia Dortmund manager Edin Terzić. The German manager had previously been linked with the club when they sacked Philippe Clement, and is still available as a free agent.
Possibly the most exciting manager available however is legendary Spanish World Cup winning midfielder Xavi, who has been out of work since leaving Barcelona last year.
Back in 2022, when he was still in charge in Catalonia, he saw Rangers as one of their biggest threats in the Europa League, heaping praise on the atmosphere at Ibrox: “People will say Barcelona are favourites because of history, and they are used to seeing us play in the Champions League – but this is not the Champions League… As somebody who has played in Glasgow, nobody is going to get an easy time against Rangers.”
Rangers face stick or twist decision
While there’s currently no shortage of available managers and talented tacticians like Xavi and Mourinho are tempting, it would be an awfully big gamble to get rid of Martin at such an early stage.
Martin’s tenure at Southampton was often criticised because his playing style didn’t suit the Premier League. He favoured high possession football, which worked well in the Championship, but not so much when the Saints were promoted and his squad struggled against the tougher opposition.
Given the gap in quality between the squads of the big two and the rest in Scotland, the 39 year-old should be able instil that Championship dominance once again, but the difficulty for Rangers’ new owners will be balancing their patience with the fans’ justified desire for change.
