While most of Ibrox Noise’s content right now may sound like a hatefest against Russell Martin, the reality is that few fans are objecting anymore. We have never liked this manager from the word go, in fact even before the word go, and we made no bones about saying so. We were vocal in protestation and took abuse for it for six months. But funnily enough, the shirt and tie saga has now resurfaced.
Rangers fans have long been divided over Martin’s refusal to wear the traditional shirt and tie. He wears the suit, jacket and trousers, but not the shirt and tie, and for some that became a needless point of division. Division that would never have existed if he had just worn the full suit in the first place. At last, the man himself has addressed it.
Martin’s reason for not wearing a shirt and tie is that he gets too hot and sweaty on the sidelines. On the one hand, you can almost buy that logic. Wearing a shirt and tie can be uncomfortable and hot under the collar. But the problem for Martin is that his explanation quickly falls apart. He undermines his own case because we see him week after week wrapped up in a full suit, trousers, and jacket, topped off with a jumper or sweater. Often a woolly one too.
In the current climate, with temperatures far from mild, that makes no sense. If heat and sweat were the issue, you would expect him to dress lighter with a t-shirt or polo shirt. Instead, he opts for layers more suited to autumn or winter. It completely contradicts his own reasoning and leaves him wide open to ridicule. And then, of course, we already know Martin has been caught out a few times with porkies before. His word is not exactly ironclad.
So yes, the shirt and tie debate has come up again. On the surface, it may not seem the most important issue Rangers face, but in a way it actually is. It symbolises the lack of connection between Martin and the culture of the club, and the inability of the manager to front up with truth when challenged. That small detail says a lot about the bigger problem. And there you have it.