Rangers

Andrew Petrie
BBC Sport Scotland in Bruges

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Club Brugge head coach Nicky Hayen says his counterpart Russell Martin "needs time to implement the style of play he wants" as the Rangers boss comes under increasing pressure following his slow start in the job.

The pair struck up a friendship when Hayen coached Haverfordwest County in Wales and Martin was at Swansea City.

Asked whether Martin may have to change his principles as he struggles to achieve positive results early in his Rangers tenure, Belgian Hayen said: "It depends - is it matching with the style of the club, what the club wants, the philosophy of the club?

"He just has to have a good collaboration between the board and himself. I know Russell was successful in his previous clubs on this way.

"Of course, it needs time to implement the style of play that he wants. This is up to the board if they give him the time or not. If not, then you have to change something."

Brugge take a 3-1 lead into Wednesday night's Champions League play-off second leg and Hayen is wary of a Rangers team that have "nothing to lose any more".

"Like in the second half [last week], they'll go all in, trying to score as quick as possible to come into the game," he said.

"This is something we have to be aware of. We're going to play our game like we did over there, try to score that goal.

"We have to be focused on the first whistle. We start the game like it's a draw again, like 0-0, it's the mindset that we need."

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Hamza Igamane did not train with Rangers before they travelled to Belgium for the Champions League play-off second leg against Club Brugge, casting the striker's future at the club into further doubt.

It comes two days after the Moroccan forward told head coach Russell Martin he was injured when asked to get ready to come on as a substitute in the 1-1 Scottish Premiership draw with St Mirren.

Speaking post-match on Sunday, Martin appeared unconvinced by Igamane's excuse but said he had to "trust" the forward.

Reports suggest Ligue 1 side Lille have reopened talks with Rangers about signing the 22-year-old, with Martin confirming on Sunday a bid was turned down for him last week.

While Igamane sat out training on Tuesday, striker Cyriel Dessers took part in the open part of the session. The Nigeria international has missed the last three games, including the 3-1 first-leg defeat by Brugge, with a knee injury.

Jamie Currie
Fan writer

The poor performances just keep on coming. After losing to Brugge, the draw at St Mirren was utterly boring - like watching the Dundee and Motherwell games over again.

In the first half we were completely bullied and again we lost a goal from not being properly set up behind the ball when attacking. And that's before you talk about having no number nine in the side.

The whole sideshow with Hamza Igamane and Russell Martin is one thing and it will go the way it goes. I don't care too much for it to go in depth on it. There is never a day goes by at Rangers without a drama - it's so draining.

In the final week of the transfer window we need a left-back, a left centre-back, a proper number six and a couple of strikers.

We go into Wednesday and Sunday behind the eight ball. We need to show something different away to Brugge and try to put in a level of performance, but even this early Sunday's Old Firm derby is must win in terms of the league season – that's how bad things have been so far domestically.

Right now it seems like we are in a bit of a mess with no sign of light at the end of the tunnel.

The players don't look like they are buying what Martin is selling. His tactics are boring and the fans seem to be totally switched off.

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Don Robertson will referee Sunday's first meeting of Rangers and Celtic this season at Ibrox (12:00 BST).

The whistler will be assisted by Daniel McFarlane and Chris Rae while Andrew Dallas will be the VAR, assisted by Calum Scott.

Robertson officiated Celtic's opening match of the season, the champions 1-0 defeat of St Mirren, and oversaw Rangers' home draw with Dundee.

Rangers sit on three points after draws in their opening three league fixtures while Celtic have a maximum nine points.

Both sides play midweek Champions League play-off fixtures before the derby, with Celtic away to Kairat tonight (agg 0-0) and Rangers in Belgium to face Club Brugge on Wednesday (agg 3-1 to Brugge).

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Rangers midfielder Joe Rothwell accepts the next week could be season-defining for Russell Martin's struggling side.

The Ibrox outfit dropped points again domestically on Sunday at St Mirren, off the back of a calamitous opening 20 minutes against Club Brugge at home in midweek, eventually losing the game 3-1.

Rangers travel to Belgium for the return leg of that Champions League play-off on Wednesday, before the first Old Firm derby of the season against Celtic on Sunday, knowing a defeat would leave them nine points behind their rivals after just four league games.

Rothwell, 30, started in Paisley as the Rangers support were left frustrated again and he says there is no shying away from how big their next two matches are.

"We just have to try and block it out as much as you can and we know the magnitude of the games that are coming up," Rothwell said.

"Wednesday night is a massive game for us. If we can go there and turn that tie around, then it'll obviously give us massive confidence going into the weekend game.

"And then we play that game and who knows where it can take us, if we manage to pick up three points.

"It be a can be a defining week, two massive games in two different competitions and obviously we want to be playing Champions League football.

"That's obviously the aim, so if we can go out there and do that and take the momentum into Sunday and then that hopefully can be a season-defining moment for us."

Despite the result against Brugge in the first leg, Rothwell says Rangers can take positives from how they battled in the second half having gone three goals behind before the break.

"Obviously, we were disappointed with how that game went during the week, especially first half," he said.

"I think second half we came out and showed probably more of what we want to do and as I say, if we can go there to turn that and then Sunday's a huge game for everyone.

"Obviously, we know much it means to everyone, how much it means inside the changing room and hopefully we can go there and get a positive result."

We asked for your thoughts after Rangers dropped points again in the Scottish Premiership with a 1-1 draw against St Mirren. You also gave us your views on Hamza Igamane claiming to be injured and not coming on as a second-half substitute.

Here's what some of you said:

George: Poor performance again, Russell Martin is not the man for the job, get rid of him before it's too late.

Jimmy: Martin is doing the exact same as Beale did, letting good players leave and not replacing them with good enough players for Rangers.

Steve: No passion, no aggression, no tactics, no technique, no clue. It's awful now, time to go before it gets really embarrassing.

James: Another shambolic display, when is Martin going to learn his system isn't working? And why did we start without a recognised striker?

Alex: Hamza Igamane believes the hype, he is nothing special, he should never play for Rangers again. Martin doesn't have what it takes to manage the club. It would be better if both were moved on. There are currently too many non tryers at the club that do not have the mentality to play for Rangers, back to the drawing board and another season written off.

Keith: Doesn't matter what you think of your manager, you should never refuse to go on the park. Embarrassing from Igamane. Should be fined and made to apologise.

McWbear: It's clear it doesn't matter who the manager is, the problem runs far deeper. At some point you have to give your manager/head coach time to deliver on promises given. Every team in the land are looking for a proven goal scorer. If you support a team then you have to go with the bad times along with the good.

Allan: Hamza is a fan's favourite, but if he refused to play without being injured, then he needs to go. For those saying he doesn't want to play for Martin, they are wrong. He is being asked to play for Rangers, not for the manager. If he really is injured, why did he wait until he was asked to play before revealing his injury?

Marty: Once love and faith in a manager has gone, it rarely returns. Martin won't see October at Rangers.

Gordon: If a player is getting paid good money to play what is really an enjoyable sport, and he refuses for no good reason to perform, then stop paying him. He's let his teammates, his club and the fans down! No excuse, get rid of him!

Colin: I have been on the fence about Martin, but I'm rapidly falling towards the 'get him out' camp. The football is boring and the players just don't seem to know what they are doing. Something big needs to happen from everyone and fast.

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Livingston defender Ryan McGowan says if Hamza Igamane refused to play for Rangers in Sunday's 1-1 draw at St Mirren then his behaviour is "inexcusable".

Igamane trained in the build-up to the game and completed the warm-up in Paisley, after a week in which Rangers rejected a bid for him.

However, when head coach Russell Martin turned to bring the Morocco international on as a second-half substitute as Rangers chased a leveller, Igamane said he was injured and declined to come on.

McGowan says that scenario should never have occurred and believes Igamane was simply in a "huff".

"If you are going to be in that situation, you be man enough to admit it beforehand," McGowan told the BBC's Scottish Football Podcast.

"If you are feeling that strongly that you want to leave the club, you knock on the manager's door and you tell him that so that he doesn't put you in the squad. You don't sit on the bench.

"He's obviously in a huff that he's on the bench. He's obviously in a huff that maybe he didn't come on at half-time and he just went 'I'm not coming on, I'm injured'.

"To do that I think is even worse than handing in a transfer request.

"To really throw your teammates and your manager under the bus in the heat of battle is inexcusable, to be honest."

Watch highlights as St Mirren draw 1-1 against Rangers in the Scottish Premiership.

Youssef Chermiti is on Rangers' list of centre forward targets, with Everton keen on sending the Portugal Under-21 international out on loan. (Rangers Review - subscription required), external

Ibrox great Ally McCoist thinks Rangers looked "really soft" in Sunday's draw at St Mirren and is concerned by Hamza Igamane's refusal to come off the bench saying it would be "absolutely diabolical" if the substitute's claims of an injury was not the case. (talkSPORT via Daily Record, external)

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Rangers head coach Russell Martin told BBC Scotland: "It's frustrating, we're making it hard for ourselves in games, conceding poor goals so it's disappointing.

"We turn the ball over a lot without having conviction in our actions. When we have a difficult moment, the response is not good enough. We need to stick to the plan always.

"I thought we were going to win the game in the end. We need to have more chances to score more but I loved the intent in the second half.

"It's not the end of the world. We've been eight weeks and had so many games. The window needs to shut and everyone needs to be all in before that happens, I'm under no illusion.

"When you can feel some of the lads energy is not all there because they feel like their future is somewhere else it's difficult but we need to give them the same attention as if they're going to be here for a long time. In 10 days time it'll look very different I'm sure.

"Some of the subs made a really good impact and put themselves in a good place to start the game.

"We're happy with the group, just a few uncertainties about some of their futures."

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Rangers came from behind to rescue a Scottish Premiership point at St Mirren - but Russell Martin's underwhelming side could not avoid recording their worst domestic start in 36 years.

Read the full match report here.

Have your say here.

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St Mirren have doubts over forward Mikael Mandron and Connor McMenamin (calf) while Roland Idowu is nursing a knee injury. Liam Donnelly (Achilles) remains out.

Cyriel Dessers is unlikely to shake off a knee injury for Rangers while fellow forward Hamza Igamane is still unable to start following his pre-season fitness issue.

Defender Nasser Djiga is suspended.

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Ridvan Yilmaz has left Rangers and rejoined former club Besiktas for an undisclosed fee after a three-year stint at Ibrox.

The Turkish left-back made more than 70 appearances for the Ibrox club and was part of the League Cup winning side in December 2023.

But he failed to force his way into Russell Martin's plans, with the Rangers head coach opting for right-sided Max Aarons for the left-back spot over both him and Jefte in the early stages of this season.

The 24-year-old will now rejoin the club where he made his professional debut in 2019, having helped them win the domestic league and cup double in the 2020-21.

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Rangers are in talks to sign former Aberdeen forward Bojan Miovski from Girona on loan. (STV), external

Feyenoord are preparing a loan offer for Rangers forward Hamza Igamane that will include a permanent option. (Algemeen Dagblad via Daily Record, external)

With Ridvan Yilmaz returning to former club Besiktas in a £2m deal, Rangers are heavily linked with a loan move for Roma left-back Anass Salah Edinne. (Daily Record), external

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Rangers head coach Russell Martin insists people need to look at the context behind the statistic that shows they have faced 119 shots this season.

Martin's men have been criticised for being too open in their opening eight matches, having kept only two clean sheets.

They have conceded seven goals in their past three games against Viktoria Plzen, Alloa Athletic and Club Brugge, including three in the opening 20 minutes against the Belgians on Wednesday.

"It's been frustrating to concede three against Brugge. That was a psychological thing because we had conceded early and then don't react and don't do our job properly, so were a bit flustered," Martin said.

"The others, we're playing in Europe against teams that are throwing caution to the wind, and Alloa where we make 10 changes. I understand the narrative but I also have to contextualise it a little bit.

"Outside of the madness the other day in that half an hour period Jack Butland had very little to do in the in the second half. Very, very little.

"We have to live there all the time. The better we are, the cleaner we are, the less chances we'll give the opposition. But we need to be more aggressive and we need to emphasise certain things to the players that are really, really important.

"We've also had the most shots [at 35] in the two games in the league so we need to do more with that."

Rangers face a trip to Paisley on Sunday to take on a St Mirren side who have taken seven points from their past three Premiership meetings with the Ibrox side.

"It's an exciting game for us because we have to go there ready to show how much we can compete, how much we can fight as a team in the same way we did in the second half against Brugge in really difficult circumstances," said Martin.

"We have to turn the game into one that we want but to do that you have to really fight for it and really earn it against St Mirren because they're really well organised, really well coached, really aggressive, powerful physically, so it's a good challenge."

George O'Neill
BBC Sport Scotland

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Russell Martin says the only way he can win over the Rangers fanbase is by consistently winning and insists he is unaffected by the "noise".

Martin's side were roundly booed during Tuesday's 3-1 home defeat by Club Brugge in the first leg of their Champions League play-off and their only victory in three domestic games this season came in the League Cup against Alloa.

Rangers have failed to win five of their opening eight matches and supporters have criticised the style of play Martin is attempting to implement.

Still, he says he must "lean into" the intense nature of the role.

"After playing here for a bit, I understand how big it is and how important it is and how things get heightened quickly," Martin said. "It's something you have to lean in to.

"My career was built on proving people wrong - I'm not driven by that, I'm driven about being the best we can be and by improving players.

"The noise is something I can't control. The only way you can control it in football is by winning matches and there will still be people unhappy I've got long hair, a centre parting and can't wear a shirt and tie because I'm too sweaty. I wear it to the games out of respect, but I can't during the game.

"You're never going to please everyone even if we win loads of trophies, which is the plan."

Amid rising fan unrest, Martin says both he and the board have not shifted from the plan put in place when he was first appointed.

"I've had nothing but support from Andrew Cavenagh, Paraag Marathe, Gretar Steinsson, Kevin Thelwell and Patrick Stewart. They understand to build something might take a bit of time," Martin added.