Russell Martin was sacked as Rangers boss after 123 days in charge, making him the shortest serving permanent manager in the club’s 153 year history.
It was a disastrous tenure for the Englishman as he leaves the Ibrox club sitting 8th in the league table.
The 39-year-old only managed to win five of his 17 games in charge with a win percentage of 29.41% – which makes him statistically the worst Light Blues boss of all time.
The 1-1 draw to Falkirk was the final nail in the coffin for the former Southampton boss and things turned toxic after the game as Martin had to get a police escort from the stadium.
Martin was appointed as Head Coach back in May and the common word that got used to describe his appointment was ‘underwhelming’.
The former Scotland international had a brief loan spell at the Gers in 2018, which was also a complete disaster and he wasn’t coming back to the club with any credit in the bank.
Martin was backed to the hilt by the Rangers board as he signed 12 players and spent an outlay of £34 million in the transfer market.
After being fully supported by the Ibrox board, how did things go so catastrophically wrong?
Style of play, player issues, and Brugge embarrassment
The style of play was one of the main concerns the Rangers supporters had in regards to the appointment of Martin.
The former MK Dons manager wants his teams to play in a possession-based style and out from the back with a high line and looking to press the opposition.
Martin is set in his ways and believes in his philosophy and that was evident whilst he managed Southampton in the Premiership where he refused to change his system, which ultimately cost him his job.
The football under Martin wasn’t good to watch as the Govan club struggled to score goals and defensively were all over the place.
Martin’s men scored a total of 20 goals and only managed to keep a staggering FOUR clean sheets.
Martin’s stubbornness and his inability to change and adapt to Scottish football is what led to his downfall.
One of the biggest issues that Martin had to deal with was the breakdown in relationship with Nico Raskin, which saw the fans side with their star midfielder over the manager.
Due to poor results and performances, Martin had no choice but to iron out the situation with the Belgian international and it was only fitting after being brought back in for his first game he scored in the 2-0 victory over Hibernian in the Premier Sports Cup.
The moment where the supporters turned on Martin was the devastating 9-1 aggregate defeat in the Champions League to Club Brugge.
If it wasn’t for Jack Butland, that result would have been double figures and in that moment – there was no way back for Martin.
As much as Martin is to blame for the current mess Rangers are in, Kevin Thelwell and Patrick Stewart need to come under the same scrutiny and criticism as they were the ones who put him in the dugout in the first place.
Sporting Director Thelwell, stuck his neck on the line and said Martin is ‘one of the best coaches’ he’s worked with, just for the Head Coach to be removed after 123 days.
The Russell Martin experiment will go down as one of the worst decisions in Rangers’ history, but it’s crucial the higher ups at the club get Martin’s successor right or else they run the risk of enduring another trophyless and miserable season.
