'Honking' - Pundit shocked at Rangers money spent to get worse under Russell Martin
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Credit: Imago
Oliver Walton
Thu 28 August 2025 12:01, UK
Rangers have endured a horror start to the new season despite backing new boss Russell Martin with a number of high-profile signings this summer.
Russell Martin’s appointment was supposed to be the beginning of a brand new era at Ibrox under 49ers Enterprises, but his position is already being questioned after just 10 competitive games in charge.
Rangers currently sit seventh in the Scottish Premiership after three draws from their first three league outings under the 39-year-old.
Their form in Europe was initially good, with wins over Panathinaikos and Viktoria Plzen, but they have now crashed out of the Champions League at the play-off stage after two crushing losses to Club Brugge resulted in a 9-1 aggregate defeat.
The Gers have spent transfer fees on six different players so far in the summer window, yet their investments have yielded poor results up to now, and one pundit cannot believe how low they have stooped under Martin following their transfer exploits.
Credit: Imago
Rangers lined up with seven summer signings in their starting eleven against Brugge on Wednesday (28 August) evening, yet they were a goal and a man down within eight minutes and eventually went on to lose the game 6-0.
Martin has overseen the worst start as a manager in the club’s history after 10 games, with just three wins, and while the likes of Djeidi Gassama and Oliver Antman have impressed in the early stages of their Gers career, new players such as the red-carded Max Aarons, Joe Rothwell and Jayden Meghoma have struggled to shine.
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Ex-Hibs forward and current pundit Tam McManus delivered his verdict on their woes following the Brugge defeat, with a post on X (27 August) to criticise the lack of quality within their squad despite the club spending over £15million so far this summer on new signings.
He said: “Good grief this is a honkingly bad Rangers team.
Spent all that money and are a worse team than they were last season.”
The Light Blues were no powerhouse last term anyway, with Philippe Clement the latest to be sacked and replaced by interim boss Barry Ferguson.
Football Insider verdict
It would certainly be a shock to see Martin relieved of his duties this early on in his Rangers tenure, but now already feels like the right time for the board to take the plunge with fans seemingly past the point of no return in their feelings about him.
New owners 49ers Enterprises took a gamble by appointing Martin, it is now being a decision that they may already be regretting, and it is not as if things are likely to get much better with a tough three-game run against arch-rivals Celtic and second and third-placed Hearts and Hibernian coming up.
Games managedWinsDrawsLosses10343Martin’s Rangers managerial record (competitive games, as of 28 August)
Football Insider revealed on Tuesday (26 August) that Rangers are unlikely to sack Martin immediately, even with the first Old Firm derby of the season approaching, but a crushing 6-0 loss like the one they experienced in Belgium may change the board’s minds.
Any kind of humiliation or late defeat against Celtic on Sunday (31 August) will surely result in him being sacked, so it seems pointless to wait for that to potentially happen, with cutting ties and moving on swiftly with a new manager surely the best option for all parties.