Will previous calls sway Rangers as Martin pressure mounts?

There was a moment during television coverage of Rangers' Europa League defeat by Sturm Graz when former Ibrox manager Ally McCoist raised a point that stood out.

"There's an obvious question and that's 'why do you get rid of Giovanni van Bronckhorst?'" he said, a little out of the blue.

"Why get rid of a man who got you to a European final and lost on penalties?

"It hurts me to say it, but they've gone backwards massively."

McCoist was referring to the decision to dismiss former manager Van Bronckhorst in November 2022 after just 12 months in charge.

He had led Rangers to the Europa League final months earlier, when they agonisingly succumbed to Eintracht Frankfurt, having also secured a first Scottish Cup in 13 years.

McCoist's point prompted pause for thought in the wake of Thursday's 2-1 loss. Hindsight is easy, but it's hard to argue with his assertion that there's been little progress at Ibrox in the three years since, under Michael Beale, Philippe Clement and, now, in the early stages of Russell Martin's tenure.

Hiring and firing over these past few years hasn't got Rangers very far. A cycle of rinse and repeat with the same outcome.

The, perhaps unintended, lesson from McCoist's point may be that change isn't always the answer, especially so early in a project.

Van Bronckhorst only got a year despite coming so close to the glory of a European trophy. Martin has nowhere near that fan goodwill in the bank.

So what do Rangers do with their besieged head coach, who is under intense pressure with just five wins from 16 matches?

Rangers are, of course, under new leadership following the US-led takeover by 49er Enterprises and now chairman Andrew Cavenagh.

They cannot be held accountable for past appointments or decisions but very much are for the appointment of Martin.

On his unveiling, Rangers chief executive Patrick Stewart said: "We wanted a coach who will excel in terms of how we want to play, improve our culture, develop our squad and ultimately win matches. Russell was the standout candidate."

Cavenagh continued: "We believe that Russell can improve on-pitch performance while also helping build the culture and infrastructure necessary for consistent and long-term success."

If long-term is the focus, is four months really enough time despite little evidence that the above criteria are being met?

Reflecting back on Van Bronckhorst's demise, a large part of the support wanted him gone too, just not with the same ferocity Martin is experiencing.

How many might welcome him back now, or wish to go back to a time when European finals seemed achievable?

The Dutchman's credentials clearly are valued by English Premier League-winning Liverpool boss Arne Slot, no less, who appointed him as assistant manager at Anfield this summer after a short-lived tenure at Besiktas.

High points under him, though, were balanced by uninspiring domestic displays and a failure to retain the long-awaited Scottish title that Steven Gerrard delivered.

A bruising Champions League campaign added to their woes, but, in truth, Rangers were ill-equipped to compete on that stage at that time and the financial boost was most welcome.

Former Heart of Midlothian and Dundee United head coach Robbie Neilson suggested on the Scottish Football Podcast: "Things start to spiral and we're getting to that point now where the negativity towards the manager is definitely having an effect on the players - there's no doubt about that.

"The only way to turn that is to win football matches. I don't know if they've got the squad to win six, seven, eight in a row, but that's the only way they'll turn it.

"It looks like Russell Martin has taken as much pressure as he can on himself to try and get it away from the players.

"But I think at the moment it's coming back on the players as well now because it's got to quite an extreme stage."

What Martin and the board are contending with are previously unseen levels of negativity, though. There's an all-consuming crescendo of ill will stretching far and wide across the support.

Until now, those in charge have held firm, although the growing sentiment over the past weeks is that even an extended run of favourable results will not influence a support seemingly not for turning.

Might McCoist's point add weight to the idea that sticking with Martin may bear longer-term fruits, despite the lack of evidence to support that right now?

We'll soon find out.

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