Russell Martin retains the backing of the Rangers board despite the furious fan reaction to the Premiership defeat to Hearts on Saturday.
The Rangers Review reports that the support towards Martin - and his position as head coach - has not changed in the aftermath of the result that left Rangers nine points adrift in the top flight standings.
Martin came under huge pressure both during and after the Ibrox clash but now looks set to remain in charge for the Premier Sports Cup fixture with Hibernian next weekend.
The Rangers Review understands no board meeting is planned for the coming days as chairman Andrew Cavenagh prepares to make a pre-planned trip to Ibrox for the Hibs fixture that now carries even greater significance on and off the park.
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The loss to the Jambos marked Rangers’ worst start to a campaign in 47 years and Martin was in the firing line from the stands amid chants of ‘get to f***’ at various stages of a woeful 90 minutes. A chorus of 'sacked in the morning' that was started by the away support saw many in the home end join in as anger was also directed towards the board.
Martin was asked if he would resign as head coach in his post-match press conference and responded with a firm ‘No.’ And he now looks like weathering the storm once again as Rangers turn their attentions to the remaining fixtures in what is a defining run of matches at home and abroad.
The loss to Hearts was the final straw for a furious support. Lawrence Shankland netted in either half to condemn Rangers to a dreadful defeat but Martin insisted he had no fears for his future when he spoke post-match as he pointed to the atmosphere in the stands as a contributing factor on a dreadful afternoon.
“Yeah, we have a lot of new guys in there,” Martin said. “We have a lot of players trying to feel their way in an environment that's really difficult to feel their way into their Rangers career. Really, really difficult. So we just have to make sure they're alright as human beings first and improve their performance.
“We're on the side of three poor decisions in my opinion. It's a handball for their first goal. Our goal is a goal. It's not a foul on the goalkeeper. And then Dio says he makes no contact. It's why it took so long. And we should have scored. We should have scored two or three. It was 1-0. We should have.
“But there's anxiety at the moment. The players are not the same team we see in training on Thursday and Friday when they go out and play in this environment right now. And that's not a criticism of anyone. So, to your emotion and your anger, I get it. I understand it. But we have to just keep working.”
