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Back in the summer, when Davide Ancelotti, son of Carlo, looked like he was the chosen one as the new Rangers man, the bosses at Ibrox gave Russell Martin a last shot at explaining why he, and not the Italian, was the perfect fit as the great redeemer of the Govan Road.

Overnight, the word from within the club changed. Martin had “knocked it out of the park” in his address to the club’s new owners. In that “tour-de-force” interview he had turned a 40-60 situation into a 60-40 in his favour. Soon, he was announced as the new Rangers head coach.

That presentation behind closed doors was the best of it for Martin, who is the fourth Rangers boss to lose his job in less than three years following on from Giovanni van Bronckhorst, Michael Beale and Philippe Clement.

Van Bronckhorst, a ridiculous sacking who is now working for Liverpool, won the Scottish Cup and brought Rangers to the Europa League final. Beale, a rookie, at least had a good start before things turned sour. He won 13 of his first 14 games.

Martin had no case for the defence. Nothing to point to as signs of improvement. Not long ago he was asked to name a few things that were better on his watch and he couldn’t do it. There was a reason for that.

Those Rangers fans who are almost as old as the Campsie Fells, the hills sitting above the club training ground just north of Glasgow, will tell you that Martin was the worst manager they’ve ever known. And that’s saying something.

One of his predecessors, Pedro Caixinha, once lost to Progres Niederkorn, the fourth best team in Luxembourg at the time, and ended the night by rowing with Rangers fans while standing in a bush.

Martin’s end was chaotic. A draw at Falkirk saw fans once again screeching for his sacking, a pretty much constant and venomous refrain in recent times. He was smuggled out a back exit at the Falkirk Stadium with a police escort. It was unseemly. It couldn’t go on.

The draw with Falkirk followed on from other league draws against Motherwell, Dundee, St Mirren and Celtic. Hearts beat them at Ibrox. Brugge beat them 6-0 and 3-1 in Europe. Rangers had the devil’s own job in defeating Livingston. Every game was the football equivalent of fingernails down a blackboard. It was excruciating.

As were the Martin explanations in the aftermath. He ran the gamut. He spoke about his players being anxious and scared, he talked about them not doing the things they were doing in training and not listening to the messages they were being told. It was impossible to avoid the conclusion that Martin thought it was always the fault of others.

After the Falkirk draw, he mentioned Falkirk’s deflected goal and their artificial pitch. After the loss to Sturm Graz on Thursday night he banged on about a throw-in that went wrong and cost Rangers a goal. “Somebody didn’t do their job,” he said.

The excuses flowed like lava. The one person he singularly failed to put in the frame was himself. Ibrox turned against him in the most vicious way, He was booed on and booed off. When Rangers scored a late winner against Livingston the cry that went up from fans seconds later was about Martin. It wasn’t nice, put it that way.

In Martin’s case, many Rangers fans didn’t even give him a game, or if they did, they did it begrudgingly.

He was up against it from day one. An unpopular choice, some fans felt he gave off a superior air. He spoke of Rangers as a project that could only be fixed in the medium to long term when all the supporters wanted to know was how things were going to improve… yesterday.

For a dozen years and more they’ve been belittled by Celtic and, as much as Martin’s plea for patience was understandable, it was also naive. He needed to win matches or, at the very least, show signs that something worthwhile was being built. He did neither.

Martin told a story of a conversation with a club employee who told him that he felt “the tanker was turning around”. He cheerily repeated this in the media, which might have been forgivable if it had been true, but results showed that it was demonstrably untrue.

There was angst from the beginning. He dropped club captain James Tavernier from the team because he thought loanee Max Aarons was the solution at right-back. He had to do a U-turn on that. He dropped his best player, Nico Raskin, from the squad, and took a veritable age to resolve the differences between them.

None of this would have mattered had the team been on a winning run, but they toiled horribly. It emerged that the new owners had spent £21m net in the summer in assembling this squad – and close to £40m gross.

Kevin Thelwell, the sporting director, and Patrick Stewart, the chief executive, did those deals. The pair of them were confronted by an angry fan at a hotel in the wake of the loss to Sturm Graz on Thursday.

Thelwell is now bringing in his son, Robbie, as head of recruitment. Nathan Fisher, another former colleague of Thelwell’s at Everton, is coming on board, too, as head scout. They are entering a world of fury. There’s a dysfunctional air around Ibrox.

Now that Martin has gone, expect Thelwell Snr and Stewart to draw the heat in the coming weeks and months. Up to now, Martin has been a human shield, an easy punchbag, but for all the animosity he drew no Rangers fan thinks that the club’s problems began and ended with him.

When Davide Ancelotti, Carlo’s son, appeared to be the man to replace Russell Martin as the new Rangers manager in the summer, the Ibrox bosses gave him one last chance to explain why he was the ideal candidate as the great redeemer of the Govan Road.

Overnight, the club’s culture changed. In his address to the club’s new owners, Martin “knocked it out of the park.” In that “tour-de-force” interview, he had changed a 40-60 to a 60-40 position. Soon, he was named the new Rangers’ head coach.

For Martin, who is the fourth Rangers boss to lose his position in less than three years after Michael Beale, Michael Beale, and Philippe Clement, that presentation behind closed doors was the best of all.

Van Bronckhorst, a ridiculous sacking who is now employed by Liverpool, won the Scottish Cup and made Rangers reach the Europa League final. Beele, a rookie, made it all the way before things started to go wrong. In his first 14 games, he won 13 of them.

Martin was unable to support the defense. Nothing that indicates improvement. He was given the task of naming a few things that were better on his watch a while back when he couldn’t do it. There was a justification for that.

Fans of Rangers who are almost as old as the Campsie Fells, the hills above the club’s training facility north of Glasgow, will say that Martin was the worst manager they’ve ever had. And that is instructive.

One of his predecessors, Pedro Caixinha, lost to Progres Niederkorn, Luxembourg’s fourth-best team at the time, and ended the night by rowing with Rangers supporters while seated in a bush.

The conclusion of Martin was chaotic. Fans frantically for his sacking in recent weeks after a draw at Falkirk, a practice that has become quite frequent and venomous. At the Falkirk Stadium, he was escorted by a policeman and taken out a back exit. Unseemly was it. It was impossible to continue.

Following on from previous league draws against Motherwell, Dundee, St. Mirren, and Celtic, Falkirk was held. At Ibrox, hearts beat hearts. In Europe, Bruno defeated them with 6-0 and 3-1. In capturing Livingston, Rangers did the devil’s job. Every game was like putting fingernails down a blackboard in football. It was agonizing.

The Martin explanations followed, too. He used a variety. He mentioned that his players were scared and anxious, and that he had talked about how they had not followed the instructions given to them during training. The conclusion that Martin believed it was always the fault of others was impossible to avoid.

He brought up Falkirk’s artificial pitch and deflected goal after the draw. He blasted on about a throw-in that went wrong and ended up costing Rangers a goal after the Sturm Graz loss on Thursday night. He claimed that “someone didn’t do their job.”

The justifications poured out like lava. He singularly failed to include himself in the frame. He was booed on and booed off, and Ibrox turned the most viciously against him. The fans began to cry as Rangers scored a late winner against Livingston, but it was about Martin. Put another way, it wasn’t nice.

Many Rangers fans didn’t even give Martin a game, or they did it resentfully.

From day one, he was in trouble with it. Some fans thought he had a better air than his unpopular choice. When all the supporters wanted to know was how things were going to turn out, he said Rangers could only be fixed for the medium to long term.

Celtic has demonized them for a dozen years, and Martin’s plea for patience was understandable, but it was also naive. He had to win matches or at the very least exhibit evidence that something worthwhile was being built. He didn’t either.

Martin shared a story of a conversation he had with a club member about how he felt as though “the tanker was turning around.” Results showed that he was clearly untrue when he enthusiastically repeated it in the media, which might have been forgiven if it had been true.

From the beginning, there was anxiety. Because he believed loanee Max Aarons would be the best option for right-back, he removed club captain James Tavernier from the team. He had to make a 180-degree turn in that regard. He removed Nico Raskin, his team’s best player, and gave them a veritable 12-year transition period to sort things out.

If the team had been on a winning run, the team’s horrifying toil would have been irrelevant. The new owners’ team-building budgets for the summer were close to £40 million gross, according to reports.

The sports director Kevin Thelwell and chief executive Patrick Stewart made the arrangements. After their Thursday loss to Sturm Graz, the pair were confronted by an enraged fan at a hotel.

Robbie is Thelwell’s son’s new head of recruitment, according to Thelwell. As head scout, Nathan Fisher, a former Everton employee, will also be joining. They are exploding the fury. Ibrox has a dysfunctional vibe.

Expect Thelwell Snr and Stewart to draw the crowd in the upcoming weeks and months now that Martin has left. Martin has always been a human shield and a simple punchbag, but despite his animosity, no Rangers fan believes that he was the catalyst for the club’s problems to begin and end.