Martin criticises Rangers egos and effort in draw

As head coach of the Rangers, Russell Martin has only managed 270 minutes of playing football, and he has already left his players without a name.

After the Ibrox side’s opening Scottish Premiership game, Martin said his players were “lucky to get a point” at Motherwell, 1-1.

The impressive Fir Park side was “braver” and “more aggressive” than his team, according to an “extremely disappointed and hurt” Ibrox head coach.

He criticized “two men on the pitch who want to do what they want to do” and said some of his players “must drop their egos.”

He continued, “Revert to type is the default.” It’s a mentality issue, not really tactical, according to the author.

Martin said he was “so proud” of his players on Wednesday in Athens, pointing out that performances could have been better in the Rangers’ two-legged Champions League qualifying victory over Panathinaikos.

The mood has dramatically changed after three days.

After his third game as manager of Rangers, Martin made the decision to stay put in two post-game interviews with BBC Scotland and Sky Sports.

What are his most enraged words in this excerpt:

Former Rangers midfielder Derek Ferguson has expressed deep concern about the approach of his old side before Motherwell scored the late winner.

He said on BBC Sportsound, “At the moment, there’s nothing coming from Rangers, it’s quite worrying.” I’m not even aware of their strategy. “I don’t see it,”

Ferguson continued, “I’ve got a real worry after watching that second half,” after Motherwell scored the leveller for their play. They still need to show that Rangers support to their players.

Former Rangers striker Kris Boyd expressed his fury on Sky Sports, saying, “It’s the same things that keep happening time after time.”

“It’s the beginning of the season.” We are aware that players will show up. We are aware that some players will leave. The alarming thing is that he is bringing them down so quickly, though.

Former Celtic forward Chris Sutton was offended by the Rangers boss’ comments, calling them “extreme,” despite agreeing with Martin.

He must believe they are rank rotten because he must watch them every day during their first game of the season, he said on Sky Sports.

According to former Motherwell forward James McFadden, “a draw was a good result for Rangers.”

The statistics support the claim, though it may have been made with tongue in cheek.

By the end of the match, Rangers’ expected goals total was 0. 7 while Motherwell’s expected total was 2.21.

According to stats provider Opta, Jens Berthel Askou’s brave and expansive side had five big chances to win the game. One was a threat.

With only three games remaining this season, Martin’s side have faced 51 attempts in all but one of those at Fir Park thanks to the 17 shots Martin’s side faced.

Rangers have only conceded twice in those three games, but their rivals have amassed a total expected goals total of 5.58.

Stevie, has anyone dried the paint on the wall? Better to watch than Russell Martin’s dull strategy.

Brutal, George Martin has no idea. No direction, no quality, or style.

Graeme: Rangers have a different manager, different team, and the same guff.