With the Jan Breydel Stadium bouncing to the beat of the Brugge drums, and with all kinds of techno and heavy bass pumping out on the Tannoy, Russell Martin had to face the music.
This was a night of complete and utter humiliation in Belgium which saw his already-strained relationship with the supporters reach boiling point.
Chants of ‘Martin, get to f***’ were loud and unmistakable from the travelling Rangers fans perched high in the stand.
This is not just some early teething problems for a new manager. Or ‘pain’, as Martin has so often put it. No, this is a club now in a full-blown crisis.
Martin can be articulate and a smooth talker. But there is no substance to what he says. His belief that he can lead this team forward is becoming increasingly detached from reality. There is no evidence to support it.
Rangers had Max Aarons sent off after eight minutes. But, even by that point, the performance was already miles away from where it needed to be.
Russell Martin watches his side capitulate in their Champions League play-off against Brugge
It was a night of utter humiliation for the Rangers players as they lost 6-0 to Brugge
Djeidi Gassama shows his frustration as Rangers lost by a painful 9-1 on aggregate
The visitors were already 1-0 down by that point. It was 5-0 by the time we reached half-time, with the referee’s whistle feeling like an act of mercy after a truly shambolic opening 45 minutes.
If Rangers thought their first half against Brugge in Glasgow last week had been poor, this was on another level entirely. And that’s one of Martin’s biggest problems.
This is not getting any better. If anything, Rangers are getting worse. Needing a miracle to turn the tie around, this was a night when his team plumbed new depths.
The Brugge fans rubbed it in with a rendition of Always Look on the Bright Side of Life. If Monty Python was to be the theme, then Martin is most certainly no Messiah.
Truthfully, and without any sense of hyperbole, Brugge could have had double figures had they really wanted it.
They battered Rangers. After going 6-0 up shortly after the break, they took their foot off the gas and hit cruise control for the final half-hour.
Martin’s side will now drop down into the Europa League, with the draw to be made on Friday. But on the basis of what we have seen so far this season, you wouldn’t make a case for them going very far.
The first Europa League fixture is scheduled for September 25. If things continue at this pace, Martin will be lucky to even make it that far.
The game against Celtic at Ibrox on Sunday now takes on even greater significance. If Rangers were to lose, the place would explode.
Jack Butland was actually Rangers’ best player on the night despite conceding six goals
Even at this early juncture of the season, it would be impossible to make the case for him continuing as manager.
At full-time, as the Rangers players sheepishly walked over to applaud the fans, those chants about the manager echoed out once again.
Heaving headed straight down the tunnel, Martin was nowhere to be seen. It was a bad look for a manager whom supporters already wish would do a disappearing act and leave.
A few local journalists had turned up at the pre-match press conference on Tuesday night hoping to speak to Nico Raskin, only to be left disappointed
Not only was Raskin not put forward for media duties as he returned to his homeland, the Belgian international wasn’t even in the Rangers starting line-up as Martin raised a few eyebrows with his team selection.
He started with a midfield three of Joe Rothwell, Lyall Cameron and Thelo Aasgaard, with captain James Tavernier also still on the bench as Martin persisted with Aarons at right-back.
Brugge were without Romeo Vermant, the striker who dinked Jack Butland for the first goal in Glasgow last week to spark the early collapse for Martin’s side.
Their manager Nicky Hayen had spoken in the build-up about how he still viewed a Rangers team with nothing to lose as a dangerous proposition. It was a very diplomatic and generous assessment.
Rangers travelled to Belgium seeking to overturn a two-goal deficit away from home in Europe for the first time in their history. The prospect of them doing so was never on the cards.
Young Jayden Meghoma was booked after only three minutes for a wild lunge on Brugge’s jet-heeled winger Carlos Forbs —and the quality of their defending did not improve thereafter.
There were five minutes on the clock when Butland’s net rippled for the first time, with Nicolo Tresoldi bulleting a header past the Rangers goalkeeper from a Joaquin Seys cross.
Another poor start turned into a disaster when Aarons was sent off on eight minutes. A long ball upfield somehow saw him left one on one with Christos Tzolis.
Aarons got himself into a world of trouble and effectively rugby tackled Tzolis to the floor. It was a red card all day long and a short night’s work for a player who already looks like a dreadful signing.
For reasons best known to himself, Martin sees Aarons as a better option than Tavernier. That loyalty will now be tested when Celtic visit Ibrox on Sunday.
Aarons is one of several players recruited under Martin who patently don’t look up to the job. Joe Rothwell and Nasser Djiga? Awful.
Oliver Antman was the player to be sacrificed as Tavernier came off the bench to provide cover at right-back. Against a blood-thirsty Brugge side, it was not an enviable task.
Findlay Curtis beats his hand in frustration as Rangers are torn apart in Belgium
Tzolis was a dangerous presence for the home side. He forced a low save from Butland before then rattling the crossbar from fully 25 yards.
The roof then caved in as Rangers conceded another four goals in a 13-minute period before half-time. So vulnerable at set-plays, they allowed Brugge skipper Hans Vanaken to rise and nod the ball in for 2-0 from a corner.
Vanaken had a volley crash back off the crossbar, before Seys ghosted in at the back post not once but twice to help himself to a couple of goals.
When Aleksandar Stankovic then planted a header past Butland for 5-0, it was utter humiliation for Rangers.
Incredibly, Butland was actually having a good game. He made a series of fine saves. Without him, this could have been double figures.
Martin stood motionless on the touchline, hands in his pockets, bereft of ideas. If it is true that Rangers would have been out of their depth in the Champions League, that applies tenfold to the manager.
The outstanding Tzolis weaved his way through and steered one into Butland’s far corner for 6-0 shortly after half-time.
The final half-hour became a training session as Brugge just knocked the ball around for fun and toyed with Rangers.
With Celtic due at Ibrox on Sunday afternoon Martin and his players will have to lick their wounds and regroup. But it’s a long, long way back from here.
