When it was confirmed last week that Rangers had officially been taken over by new American investors, the mood around Ibrox was one of unbridled joy and celebration.
After so many years in the doldrums and plumbing the depths of despair, supporters were daring to dream of a bright and prosperous new future.
The only thing left to establish, the final piece of the jigsaw, was the identity of the club’s next manager. Or, rather, the new head coach. An important distinction in the club’s new structure.
When the news broke on Wednesday evening that Russell Martin was on the brink of landing the job, it’s fair to say that a substantial number of Rangers fans weren’t overly enamoured.
By yesterday morning, when Martin was posing for the obligatory pictures with jersey and scarf, the mood had turned apoplectic among some fans.
It’s difficult to recall the mood among such a large number of a club’s supporters turning from joy and optimism to anger and dismay in such a short space of time.
Russell Martin made 17 appearances during a short loan spell at Rangers in 2018
Martin was on the losing side in all three of his Old Firm appearances, losing 3-2, 5-0 and 4-0
Martin suffers alongside Graham Dorrans during a Scottish Cup semi-final defeat at Hampden
None of this, of course, is Martin’s fault. He’s done nothing wrong. He cut an impressive figure yesterday, spoke well, and engaged with all the questions which were put to him.
Smartly turned out in a collar-and-tie and the club suit, he looked like a Rangers manager. Articulate and intelligent, he sounded like everything you would want in a modern coach.
He didn’t make any outlandish promises, he outlined a clear vision, and he understands that winning trophies will underpin everything he does in Glasgow.
As described in these pages a couple of days ago, there’s a lot to like about him. He ticks a lot of boxes in terms of what Rangers are looking for.
He is a progressive young coach with a very clear identity and style of play. That’s something Rangers have been crying out for these past few years. And, yet, such is the underwhelming reaction from so many Rangers fans, it’s clear that Martin’s first task will be to win over the naysayers.
Unlike so many new managers elsewhere, there will be no honeymoon period for him. He needs to get the fans onside and, in his own words, start winning games quickly.
The new manager was all smiles after being reintroduced to the south side of Glasgow
Asked about the notion of being given time and patience, he replied: ‘I think we need to win early and we need to find a way to win while we’re developing.
‘Winning helps you convince people — players, staff, supporters. So, no, I can’t sit here and say: “You know, it’s going to take us two years to build something”.
‘That’s not why we’re here. I want us to keep improving. The end-product might not click completely overnight, but we have to find a way of winning while building and developing.
‘I’m just talking about winning games to create some energy and momentum. I think if you have that here at this club, it can be so powerful and so strong.
‘Ultimately, it’s about winning trophies and giving the supporters a team they identify with and feel proud of. A team that has courage, is aggressive, and dominant.’
Part of the reason why a lot of Rangers fans feel so dismayed by Martin’s appointment is because they feel he simply doesn’t have the credentials to manage a club of this stature.
Martin scored one goal during his loan spell from Norwich City, against Hearts in a 2-0 victory
They point to a win ratio of just below 40 per cent across his three previous jobs at MK Dons, Swansea and Southampton.
They point to the fact that Southampton were a disaster in last season’s English Premier League and had won just once in 16 games by the time Martin was sacked last December.
The reality is that the English Premier League and the top flight in Scotland aren’t always directly comparable. Brendan Rodgers was sacked by Leicester City in April 2023 with the club plummeting towards relegation.
That didn’t necessarily make him a bad manager. They just had a bad season and he paid the price for it. Ange Postecoglou has just overseen Tottenham’s worst season in Premier League history and could yet be sacked, despite winning the Europa League.
Yet Postecoglou was a revelation across his two seasons in Glasgow and, like Martin, he arrived to little or no great fanfare.
So it’s not always wise to place too much currency on how a manager fares in the English Premier League when assessing how he might do in Scotland. Ultimately, Southampton’s main failure last summer was around recruitment.
Martin’s greatest achievement to date was leading Southampton to promotion via the play-offs
After winning promotion from the Championship, where Martin had engineered a club record 25-game unbeaten run, the club didn’t back him.
His style of play, which revolves around dominating possession and high pressing, should suit a club like Rangers.
None of his previous clubs were ever expected to dominate on a weekly basis like the Ibrox side will be. On paper, it’s a good fit.
Maybe if he was called Russellio Martinho and arrived from a foreign league, fans would be more on board. But some Rangers followers are totally underwhelmed by it all. Not only by his managerial record, but by his short, disappointing loan spell as a player in 2018.
On that very subject, Martin said: ‘I hope people judge me on this moment, and not when I was a player here a while ago. It’s very, very different.
‘I feel my whole playing career was based on hard work, resilience, and trying to find a way myself. I’m even surprised at the playing career I had, playing in the Premier League (with Norwich) — because if you’d said (I would do that) when I was 18, I wouldn’t have thought that.
Martin captained Norwich to back-to-back promotions, from League One to the Premiership
‘From my whole playing career to becoming a coach and a manager, I always wanted to do that. I’ve had a burning desire to do this from an early age.
‘There were a few opportunities at other clubs when I left Southampton, but I was happy to take a break. I wanted to take time to reflect.
‘When the opportunity to join Rangers came along, this was the one I wanted. One, because of the expectation, the size of it, what it means to so many people.
‘(It was) the opportunity to come here and experience something completely different to anything in football. That’s what I felt when I played here for a really short period.
‘That also comes into my mind, probably when I look back on my career as a player. It’s the one thing that hurt me a lot was that it didn’t go very well here, because I wasn’t quite in the right place physically to do as well as I possibly could, and it was a difficult time for the club.
‘That comes into the equation as well, I have to be really honest. So I’m desperate to show a different version of myself here than I did previously.
Martin started out at MK Dons and had a spell at Swansea before his last post at Southampton
‘Just everything, the fresh start, how these guys have been in the process, the owners, it’s just really exciting, the whole thing.’
Ultimately, the anger around Martin’s appointment has been unfair and excessive.
He’s getting a raw deal from some fans and he’s only five minutes in the door.
However, by the time the Champions League qualifiers come around in July, swiftly followed by the start of the new Premiership season, he knows he needs to hit the ground running.
