Russell Martin has demanded his players put on a show as they prepare to start their Europa League campaign in front of thousands of empty seats.
Amid ongoing fan unrest, there were only 34,682 inside at Ibrox on Sunday as Rangers claimed their place in the semi-finals of the Premier Sports Cup with a 2-0 win over Hibernian.
Barring a huge surge in late tickets sales, a similar number will be there for the visit of Belgian strugglers Genk — the first of eight matches Martin’s men will face in the Europa League group stage.
Unconcerned by the prospect of playing in front of the lowest European gate of the season, the under-fire manager feels it’s incumbent on his charges to reward those who do turn up with the kind of display which ensures they come back for more.
‘I think the Panathinaikos game and the (Viktoria) Plzen games have been brilliant. The atmosphere in those two games was immense,’ he said.
‘I thought they were great on Saturday after, obviously, the (protests at) start of the game and stuff. I thought they were brilliant by the end.
Russell Martin is confident the Rangers supporters will get behind the team against Genk
The Belgian outfit have arrived in Glasgow hoping to pile more pressure on the Rangers boss
Rangers have failed to win any of their first five matches in the Premiership this season
‘We just have to keep putting in performances. I think it’s not surprising the cup game wasn’t full up. It is what it is.
‘We can’t ask any more from the fans, how they’ve been actually inside the stadium and the way they’ve got behind the team when we’re playing in a way that we want to play in.
‘I hope the fans are there and they see a performance that is improved from Saturday. I hope we can win the game and build some momentum.’
The weekend victory was only Rangers’ fourth of the season in all competitions and came after thousands of supporters had gathered outside Ibrox before kick-off to demand Martin’s head.
Despite enduring a turbulent start to his time at the club, the 39-year old is adamant that he’s not been unsettled by the level of criticism he’s had.
‘Being a head coach or manager of any team or club is not easy,’ he added.
‘There’s obviously so many opinions because of the level of interest in this game and what it does to people and how much it means to people.
‘I’ve actually, in a perverse way, enjoyed that as well. I think you have to try and find enjoyment in everything.
The fans made their feelings clear before Saturday’s Premier Sports Cup tie against Hibernian
‘I’ve said to the players and the staff, the amount of growth that can come from this in this difficult period in learning could be huge, it could be brilliant for everyone, myself included.
‘We just have to keep working, do what we believe in and trust that the outcome will be positive.’
Martin was criticised by many — including former interim boss Barry Ferguson — for taking his players wild water swimming and for a hill climb in the wake of a meek home loss to Hearts.
Yet, he believes the left-field move has been shown to be beneficial with his side now looking ahead to a Hampden meeting with Celtic on November 2.
‘I really felt a difference last week,’ he reflected. ‘We just spent a bit of time together away from it all, so it set up the week nicely.
‘Last week was a really good week and then we finished it with a performance which I’m really proud of still, in a difficult situation, in difficult circumstance for the players.
‘They were amazing last week in the fact that they were really together, trained really hard and then put a performance on the pitch that they enjoyed. We looked like how we want to be really.
‘There’s still loads of improvement, but it looked way more like it should.
New arrival Derek Cornelius has promised to give the Ibrox faithful something to cheer about
‘Now we need to keep them there really because they’re capable of so much. They’re capable of being a really top team I believe.’
Defender Derek Cornelius feels it’s essential that the team harnesses the energy of the supporters from the start of the match.
‘I think our fan base can be our biggest strength, but also one of our biggest obstacles to overcome,’ said the Canadian.
‘When they get behind us, I think it can be definitely a 12th man on the pitch.
‘But ultimately, that comes down to us. They’re going to feed off our performance, they’re going to feed off what we’re delivering on the pitch.’
