Glasgow | A closer look at a dreadful night for Rangers

The Rangers tanker is not turning

Rangers boss Russell Martin spoke of needing to accept the pain and use it as fuel against Celtic at Ibrox on Sunday.

Author | Chloe Bridges

Club Brugge celebrate another goal

Martin's tone was different from the self-congratulation one of a fortnight ago, when he told the tale of a staff member who suggested the Rangers tanker was being turned around under his guidance, a notion Martin was only too happy to repeat.

The reality is rather different. The tanker is not turning, it is sinking. With holes appearing all over the place, the project looks more like a rusting wreck than a vessel making steady progress. After this humiliating defeat, that image feels painfully apt.

In truth, Rangers were fortunate the margin was not even more brutal. Six goals conceded, two more efforts rattling the woodwork and several important saves from Jack Butland meant the damage could easily have been far worse. A double-figure scoreline would not have been beyond possibility.

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By the closing stages, with fury coursing through the away end, it was not difficult to imagine Rangers supporters quietly urging Brugge on in the hope of hastening the end for Martin and his staff. Short-term humiliation in exchange for the prospect of change.

Rangers end pre match

Martin insisted afterwards that the board retain their faith. He could hardly have said otherwise, and for now that may still be the case. Perhaps less so with each new mishap, but enough for him to hold on a little longer.

The people making the decisions about the club's future

The club’s new ownership do not live inside the Glasgow football bubble. They are less susceptible to the raw emotion that tends to dictate decisions and appear more inclined to keep their distance than previous regimes.

Andrew Cavenagh, the chairman, does not carry the weight of Rangers’ history. Nor does Paraag Marathe, the 49ers Enterprises executive who holds significant influence at boardroom level. From Marathe’s experience as Leeds United chairman, there is evidence of a preference for patience.

When Daniel Farke took charge of Leeds in 2023, his early results were hardly convincing. Three wins from his first nine Championship fixtures and one from his final nine, ending with a play-off defeat by Martin’s Southampton, was not the stuff of immediate success. The following season began with two league draws and a cup exit to Middlesbrough. Yet Marathe and his board did not flinch. They kept faith and were rewarded with promotion at the second attempt.