As most Rangers fans will now be aware, former manager Russell Martin has heavily been in the press the last 24 to 48 hours after giving a very candid interview to radio. The former Southampton and Swansea boss, of course, had a diabolical time at Ibrox. It was clearly the worst era of Rangers’ SPL existence under a manager who absolutely did not want to be there. He treated the club poorly, not to mention the fans at the time. He was eventually chased out after pure hatred from supporters. They finally realised this was not going to work out. These were, of course, the same supporters in many cases who had backed him to the hilt once he had been appointed. But we shan’t go there.
Martin finally speaks out
Nevertheless, Ibrox Noise was heavily against the appointment of Russell Martin in the first place. We were proven right. We knew that this was a terrible choice, but we did not realise how extensively awful it would become. But Martin, for his own sake, has finally come out of hiding and spoken about his thoughts. In all honesty, the truth is that Martin has held his hands up. He admitted he completely got the whole job wrong and made every mistake under the sun.
Arrogance and reality collide
The problem, of course, at the time was his arrogance. It was extremely high and he refused to accept he was doing the wrong things at the wrong times. He simply could not manage a club of this stature. He was out of his depth beyond all words. He has effectively admitted the same thing. He got it all wrong.
But we were amused by one comment that Russell Martin specifically made. It echoed the same reason that Michael Beale made. Michael Beale, of course, had a similarly bad time, albeit initially more successful, at Ibrox. Eventually, he too had to walk away.
The repeated excuse
However, the big comment he made in hindsight, with humility over his mistakes, was that he tried to change too much too quickly. This is exactly what Russell Martin has now said, almost word for word. We do not know if he knows what Michael Beale said. But the fact that two managers in recent years have used the exact same reason is a curious trend.
Both have admitted fault. Both have taken responsibility. Yet both pointed to trying to change too much too fast. That suggests something more than just poor management.
A deeper issue at Ibrox
This points to too much flux at Rangers. There are too many changes and too many things happening at once. Danny Rohl is guilty of exactly the same thing. He has tried to change things far too aggressively as well. While initially, just like Beale, it got results, it is not doing so now.
He signed four new players. That is fair enough because the squad is not great. But those four signings have not exactly shone, bar one. Consequently, we do wonder what is happening internally at the club.
Why are so many managers arriving and then later admitting once fired the same mistake?
Even Philippe Clement said something similar. In his case, he claimed he was trying to do too much because positions above him had vacated. He had to fill them in.
Wrong hires, same outcome
In fairness, most managers who have left Rangers have admitted they got things wrong. They have shown humility and held their hands up. But the fact that so many of them say the same thing suggests deeper problems.
The issue at Ibrox now is fundamental. We are hiring the wrong people. They do not understand how to manage Rangers. We have not had a proper Rangers manager for a very long time.
The only two since Walter that we believe fit the level were Giovanni van Bronckhorst and Steven Gerrard. The rest have not been up to the challenge.
They have all admitted mistakes. But those mistakes began with taking the job. The bigger mistake was Rangers hiring them.
These errors will continue until Rangers finally appoint the right kind of manager. For now, what these former managers like Martin are saying is very much worth noting.