Looking for a fresh start after a turbulent journey through the first few weeks of the new season, Russell Martin could probably do without the ongoing drama surrounding Nico Raskin.
With the future of the club’s best player and most valuable asset remaining decidedly unclear, the breakdown in the relationship has been a thorny issue for the under-fire manager.
But this has been a problem of Martin’s own making. Prior to a Champions League qualifier against Viktoria Plzen last month, Martin volunteered the revelation that Raskin’s head had been turned.
With transfer interest in the Belgium midfielder from clubs across Europe, Martin chose to put that information out into the public domain.
It could have been dealt with in-house. A manager with greater experience would have known how to handle the situation far more delicately.
But that was the moment when it became clear there was an issue between the manager and the player. It remains a sideshow which has not been fully resolved.
Russell Martin says Nico Raskin must work to regain the trust of his team-mates
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The Rangers manager has come under fire for his decision to drop Raskin from the first team
The Belgian was on target for his country against Kazakhstan during the international break
After such a huge turnover in players over the summer, Martin has stated repeatedly that he expects there to be greater clarity and harmony among the squad once the transfer window closes.
Well, here we are. The window is shut, yet still this issue rumbles on. Rangers supporters are, quite justifiably, bemused as to why the club’s best player continues to be twiddling his thumbs.
Raskin is back in first-team training but will not be part of the squad to face Hearts at Ibrox this afternoon. To continue excluding him from the team is an act of self-sabotage from the under-fire manager.
Raskin played and scored for Belgium during the recent international break, yet can’t get a game at club level. To alienate the club’s prized asset, it’s a situation which can’t continue.
If Martin was operating from a position of strength, then he would have far more clout with this sort of stuff. But he’s a manager being openly ridiculed by supporters.
Especially when he tried to claim he ‘didn’t hear’ 50,000 supporters chanting in support of Raskin in the game against Celtic a fortnight ago.
In a game which became instantly forgettable, the Raskin chants proved to be the loudest cheer of the afternoon and one of few memorable moments in a dreadful match.
It all boils down to a very simple question. Are Rangers a better team with Raskin involved? The answer is undeniably yes, they are.
Raskin’s last appearance for Rangers came during a Champions League loss in Brugge
Martin’s continued flip-flopping in terms of his messaging around certain players is becoming a stick — one of many — with which to beat him.
Martin is now entering a run of four games which could well make or break his time as Rangers manager. Today’s visit of Hearts is then followed by a Premier Sports Cup clash with Hibs at Ibrox next weekend.
Genk will then be in Glasgow as the Europa League begins, before Martin’s side travel to face Livingston on a plastic pitch which has caused them no end of grief over the years.
On the basis of what Rangers have produced so far this season, it is difficult to make a case for them winning all four of those matches.
Indeed, cynics might argue that it is difficult to see how Martin’s team win any of them. That’s how poor Rangers have been under their new manager.
By failing to win any of the opening four matches, Martin has overseen the club’s worst start to a league season in 42 years.
He claimed that the performance against Celtic was a step in the right direction and something to build on. But defeat to Hearts would send Martin 10 steps back in the other direction.
Fans remain apoplectic that he was not sacked immediately after the Champions League humiliation against Club Brugge.
Rangers earned a draw at home to Celtic earlier this month but remain without a league win
With a net spend of around £20million over the summer, this is Martin’s squad now. He has been backed, both financially and personally, by chairman Andrew Cavenagh and sporting director Kevin Thelwell.
But that patience and understanding won’t last forever. If the international break and the closing of the transfer window offers the chance for a fresh start, it’s one Martin needs to make the most of.
‘I think things can change very much by winning tomorrow. Ultimately, we need to win games,’ said the Rangers boss.
‘The next month is a brilliant opportunity to do that. We’re playing against some good teams, but we’re in a good place.
‘I really liked the energy and aggression we showed against Celtic a couple of weeks ago, but obviously I want us to be more creative and attacking as well.
‘We’ve hit the reset button over the window and all that stuff, everything’s settled down now, so the season has to start here for us.’
There is always a tendency among Rangers fans to fixate on Celtic and, in fairness, the opposite is true of supporters on the other side of Glasgow’s great divide.
Perhaps most galling for Rangers fans at the moment is the fact Celtic are so weak and vulnerable, yet it looks like Martin’s side are incapable of laying a glove on them.
Hearts are full of confidence ahead of today’s meeting between the two sides at Ibrox
With supporters still on the brink of spontaneous combustion, Rangers need to be more creative in order to maximise Bojan Miovski’s talents up front.
They failed to muster a single shot on target against Celtic. Miovski had no service whatsoever. For all Martin obsesses over possession, Rangers are not cutting teams open.
But forget Celtic for a moment. If Hearts were to go to Ibrox and win to open up a nine-point gap over Rangers, they would become Martin’s biggest problem of all.
On the prospect of Hearts or any other team mounting a challenge at the top of the league, Martin added: ‘I think the more strength you have in Scotland with teams, the better it is for Scottish football.
‘So I’m pretty sure Derek [McInnes] will be telling his players and his team that there’s an opportunity for them this season, for sure.
‘So I think it’s up to us to make sure that it doesn’t become that. It’s as simple as that.’
