Rangers are in crisis with no league wins in five games, sitting 10th in the Scottish Premiership. Manager Russell Martin’s tactics are under scrutiny as the team struggles to score, especially from open play. The absence of key players like Nicolas Raskin and a lack of attacking threat compounds their woes, leading to growing pressure on Martin to turn things around.
Rangers Football Club finds itself in a state of crisis. With five league games played, not a single victory to celebrate, and languishing in 10th place in the Scottish Premiership, it's clear that something is amiss at Ibrox. Former Rangers winger and assistant manager, Neil McCann's assessment that "a lot of things are going wrong at the minute" is an understatement of the dire situation. The recent defeat at home to Hearts, their first since 2014, further compounds the misery, marking a historic low as Russell Martin becomes the first Rangers head coach in 47 years to start his league tenure without a win.
McCann didn't mince words, describing Rangers as "ragged" after they conceded two goals and failed to score themselves. Captain James Tavernier echoed the sentiment, expressing his team's "shame" and "embarrassment" at the manner of their defeat. Adding to the gloom, Martin himself acknowledged the palpable "anxiety" among his players. The chorus of boos that reverberated through the stands during and after Saturday's match encapsulated the frustration and disappointment of the Rangers faithful.
Martin's tenure at Rangers has been defined by a bold and high-risk approach, a philosophy he has embraced since his arrival. However, the results have been far from satisfactory, with only two European qualifying wins and a narrow victory over Alloa Athletic to his name. His vision of quick, sharp passing and dynamic movement has been hampered by players seemingly reluctant to take possession, a fundamental flaw in his tactical blueprint.
A telling moment highlighted on Sportscene saw Scotland defender John Souttar receiving the ball from goalkeeper Jack Butland with virtually "zero options" ahead of him, as McCann pointed out. On-loan Brentford left-back Jayden Meghoma's advanced position left Rangers vulnerable, with five Hearts players poised to exploit the defensive gaps. This forced on-loan Tottenham Hotspur winger Mikey Moore to retreat and assist defensively, sacrificing his attacking threat.
While this particular instance didn't result in a goal, Lawrence Shankland's opener stemmed from a similar scenario, with Tavernier's poor pass in the attacking third being intercepted. Rangers' high defensive line, coupled with inverted full-backs drifting into midfield, creates vast spaces at the back, ripe for exploitation by opposing wingers like Claudio Braga on the counter-attack.
Martin had cautioned that his style would entail initial pain, especially with the existing squad. However, in Saturday's game, six of the starters and four substitutes were his own signings, raising questions about the team's adaptation to his methods. "There is a lot of anxiety, a lot of difficulty managing expectation," he admitted. "We have so many players trying to feel their way into their Rangers career in a really difficult situation... We are not coming into a club that has been winning a lot and that has strong foundations... We knew that in-house and knew change could be messy."
Where's Jayden Meghoma?
Rangers' attacking woes are underscored by alarming statistics: a mere three league goals scored, none from open play. Dundee shares this paltry tally, while Aberdeen fares even worse with zero goals in four games. The summer departures of Cyriel Dessers and Hamza Igamane, who contributed a combined 45 goals last season, have left a gaping void in the team's attacking prowess. While Bojan Miovski and Youssef Chermiti were brought in to address this deficiency, their impact has been minimal thus far.
The absence of Nicolas Raskin from the squad has also drawn criticism. Despite returning from international duty with a goal, the midfielder was once again sidelined. While Martin insists that the situation is "resolved," Raskin's absence deprives Rangers of a creative spark and tenacious presence in midfield, qualities that were instrumental to the team's success last season. As former Ibrox forward Rory Loy aptly put it, "Big changes need to happen, and I'm not alluding to the manager necessarily, but they need clear-the-air talks with Nico Raskin and to get him back in the team and get it put to bed."
With a League Cup quarter-final against Hibernian and a Europa League group stage match against Genk looming, the pressure on Martin and his team is mounting. Failure to turn the tide could see Rangers plummet to the bottom of the table, an unthinkable scenario for a club of their stature. As Bill Shankly famously said, "Football is a simple game." However, for Rangers at this moment, nothing seems simple at all.