Michael Beale has leapt to the defence of Russell Martin following the Ibrox club’s poor start in the league. 

The Light Blues have failed to win their first two league games after drawing to Motherwell and Dundee 1-1 and Martin has come under criticism from the Rangers faithful.

Someone who knows the pressures and demands of managing the Govan club is former manager Beale, who managed in Glasgow for 11 months before being sacked in October 2023.

The former Sunderland boss appeared on Sky Sports News defending Martin and said the supporters need to give their new boss time:

“I dont think we have seen everything from Russell Martin’s team yet, one or two of his key new signings have not been available.

“They played very well or did play very well against Viktoria Plzen last week, so it looks like they are going to make a play-off game against Salzburg or Club Brugge, which will be huge for the club.

“I think in the summer the club has had a complete reset, and with that it’s going to take time for the new owners to really instil the culture behind the scenes, and for Russell as well.

“I wish him well, it’s a huge job but I know he’s super confident, and we exchanged text messages, and I wished him well.”

Beale was apart of the coaching staff when the Teddy Bears won their historic 55th league title back in 2021.

The Englishman’s last role in football was a brief spell as Steven Gerrard’s assistant manager at Al-Ettifaq.