Rangers

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Rangers released a short statement when announcing the parting of company with Russell Martin.

The club acknowledged that "while all transition periods require some time, results have not met the club's expectations.".

The former Scotland defender managed just five wins in his 17 games in charge.

He leaves Ibrox alongside his assistant head Coach, Matt Gill, and first-team coach, Mike Williamson.

The club statement said: "Russell and his staff have worked exceptionally hard throughout their time at the club.

"We thank them for their efforts and wish them well for the future."

Rangers are looking for their fourth manager of 2025 after head coach Russell Martin was sacked in the wake of a 1-1 draw with Falkirk.

It was his fifth draw in seven Scottish Premiership games.

The former Scotland defender's reign lasted 123 days, making his tenure even shorter than Pedro Caixinha's seven months in charge in 2017.

So, what went wrong? And who could be next for the Ibrox dugout?

Let us know your thoughts on Russell Martin's sacking.

A stunning second-half equaliser from Falkirk piled more pressure on under-fire Rangers boss Russell Martin, whose side had to settle for a fifth Scottish Premiership draw in their opening seven games.

Read the match report here.

Have your say on events here.

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Rangers head coach Russell Martin: "Draws won't do anywhere if you really want to go and win things, so we're frustrated.

"We have to have a desire to score more goals, build on a 1-0 lead and defend our goal. It's a shot from far away that's taken a deflection and gone in the top corner - I didn't feel like they were going to score, so it was going to take something like that.

"We felt like we generated energy and momentum and then didn't kick on, which has been the case a few too many times this season. The performances have improved, there was a lot of good stuff today but it needs to be brilliant, it needs to be top.

"I see a team who are trying very hard, running as hard as they can, a team who played well at times today, defended really well at times today, but I think we need to really want more.

"The guys who have been here for a quite while are saying that they've been saying the same thing for quite a while, so maybe it's not just about right here and right now.

"Ultimately, it's my job to address it because that's too many occasions where it's a toss of a coin if we're going to come out with the ball or not.

"There are a lot of reasons, we're embracing a lot of change, but there are no excuses. The team, ultimately, is a reflection on me and it has to be better and do better so I need to take responsibility and look at that myself.

"You can't just win, sustainably, in my opinion. You have to have a way to win.

"I've never given up anything in my life and it's always gone pretty well for me.

"We're building without the results we currently want."

On his message to the fans: "I don't think anything I say will help that right now so we just need to win football matches."

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Rangers striker Bojan Miovski says the squad cannot expect to be given lots of time to gel after a poor start to the campaign.

Miovski, 26, is one of 13 new signings the club have made this summer, with many of them yet to hit form after just five wins in 16 games.

Rangers head to Falkirk on Sunday desperately seeking a victory after going down 2-1 to Sturm Graz, a club rcord 23rd consecutive away game without a clean sheet.

Miovski says keeping the ball out of the net starts from the front and is a team effort, but urged his team-mates to change their fortunes quickly.

"In this football club you don't have time - we need to start winning games," the North Macedonia international said.

"We feel frustrated as well because we are not winning games and at this football club we need to win games.

"We will give everything on the pitch to start winning.

"We have good players and a good squad but we are not showing it consistently. We need to have this consistency.

"Together we need to defend the goal not just the defenders. At Livingston the first half was good, but the second half was not good.

"And now the first half was not good and the second half was good [against Sturm Graz]. We need consistency because if you are disconnected for one second, they [teams] can punish you."

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• This will be Falkirk's first competitive meeting with Rangers since a 4-0 League Cup defeat in November 2020, first in the league since a 3-2 Championship win in March 2016, and first in the top flight since a 3-0 defeat in January 2010.

• Rangers have lost both of their past two league visits to Falkirk, each in the Championship in 2015-16, while they have never lost three successive trips.

• In the top flight, though, Rangers have lost just one of their past 45 games against the Bairns home and away (W38 D6), winning their latest 10 in a row since a 1-0 defeat in December 2006 under Paul Le Guen.

• Falkirk are conceding an average of 2.0 goals per game in the Premiership this season (12 in six games), the most of any side.

• Rangers are unbeaten in 29 league games against newly-promoted opponents, winning 26 (D3) since a 1-0 defeat at Livingston in September 2018.

• Rangers haven't lost any of their past 20 Scottish Premiership matches that have come the same weekend after a midweek European game (W15 D5) since going down 1-0 to Celtic in September 2023 under Michael Beale. Indeed, the Glasgow side are unbeaten in their past 49 Sunday league games immediately after a Europa League match (excluding qualifiers) on Thursday (W42 D7) since a 3-0 defeat to Celtic in February 2011 under Walter Smith.

Andrew Petrie
BBC Sport Scotland

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Falkirk manager John McGlynn remains "wary" of struggling Rangers as he expressed sympathy for under-pressure counterpart Russell Martin.

The second-bottom Bairns trail Rangers - who have one league win in six games - by just two points before Sunday's meeting at the Falkirk Stadium.

"You can't hide from the fact that Rangers are not in a place that they want to be, but put them down at your peril," McGlynn said.

"There's no way we'll be taking it lightly at all. I'm looking for a response to the game last week.

"It wouldn't have mattered if it was Rangers or whoever we're going to be playing tomorrow. On Sunday, we'd be looking for a response from the players. That's my main theme here."

Falkirk have impressed at times in their return to the top flight, but they were well beaten 3-0 by Hearts last weekend at Tynecastle.

"It's probably the first time we've let ourselves down," the Bairns manager said. "However, I do understand that we wouldn't have been the only one that day [to get well beaten], Hearts were in a particularly good place, they were ready for whoever on that day.

"They'd just been to Ibrox and won for the first time in 14 years, sitting proudly on top of the league. They'd had a lot of time to prepare for the game, and we had a short time to prepare, and we were in the wrong place at the wrong time. They were good, we were a little off it."

Rangers were beaten 2-1 by Sturm Graz in the Europa League on Thursday, a sixth defeat in 16 games for boss Martin, who continues to face abuse from his own supporters.

"Of course you [feel sympathy for him], because you're a human being," McGlynn said.

"You do feel for him. There's abuse and there's going too far. I've seen with another manager [Stuart Kettlewell at Motherwell] last season, he came away from it because of that.

"Sometimes you get guys saying to you, 'I don't know how you do it'. But we love the game. It's a huge part of it. I have a lot of sympathy because sometimes it's going too far. You can't be doing that type of thing. You shouldn't be [having to get] escorted to training and such."

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Falkirk welcome back on-loan Hearts defender Lewis Neilson after he had to sit out the defeat at Tynecastle while Kyrell Wilson is set to return. Aidan Nesbitt, Ethan Ross, Jamie Sneddon and Coll Donaldson remain sidelined.

Mohamed Diomande returns to the Rangers squad after being suspended against Sturm Graz while Kieran Dowall and Nedim Bajrami are not in the Europa League squad and are available again.

Long-term absentees Rabbi Matondo (knee) and Dujon Sterling (Achilles) are in back training but will not be involved any time soon.

"There's still an opportunity for Rangers to challenge" in the Premiership insists former captain and interim manager Barry Ferguson, adding: "I genuinely don't think there's a better time to go and fight for a title." (Daily Record), external

Rangers are set to appoint former Manchester United director of operations Jim Liggett as their chief operating officer on an interim basis. (Rangers Review - subscription required), external

Rangers defender Derek Cornelius says blaming Russell Martin and his coaching staff for poor results is the "easy way out" for the squad.

After conceding twice in the first half of Thursday night's Europa League tie at Sturm Graz, Rangers rallied and scored through Djeidi Gassama but could not find an equaliser in a frantic finish.

Cornelius, who shifted to left-back in the second half as Rangers chased the game, was frustrated at conceding from their own throw-in and a free-kick but insisted the players must take responsibility.

"It always seems we find ourselves open in different circumstances," the Canada international said.

"One week it's transitions, maybe another free-kicks or whatever and now it's off a throw-in.

"We keep having the same conversations as to why but I think it's a mentality. We showed in the second half we are capable of being a good group and team.

"But we try to pick our moment and in football it's two halves. We have to know that and perform in both halves."

Asked if the players are getting enough information from head coach Martin and his staff, Cornelius said the team have "clear instructions".

"It's an easy way out to say it's the manager or it's this or that reason," he added.

"Then you're deflecting responsibility away from yourself. On the pitch we need to perform and each individual needs to be better.

"We all have to look ourselves in the mirror and take responsibility for what's not going right. We can't look and point fingers now. Each individual has to be better themselves and that will ultimately help the group."

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We asked for your views after Rangers' 2-1 loss at Sturm Graz made it two defeats from two in the Europa League.

Here are some of your comments:

Louise: The story of our season is going to be punishment for poor defensive errors. We are too open and too easy to play against in every game. We looked decent enough at times going forward when we could keep the ball, but we don't have the quality to finish and fight back.

Steven: Another woeful Rangers performance. Russell Martin has had enough time for us to see progression. It simply isn't there. Oliver Antman could have been replaced by a traffic cone for what he brought to the game and Jayden Meghoma is a ghost. We let two half-decent left-backs leave and replaced them with a kid with no experience.

Matthew: It truly isn't personal, but Martin needs to go now. We lament to defeat after defeat, and the signs of promise are simply not promising enough. Players like Nico Raskin create quality, but he was doing that long before Russell Martin was here. Kevin Thelwell and Martin have been a disaster for Rangers, and the latter's standards for "brilliant football" are worrying. His reluctance to play Findlay Curtis and instead foster Mikey Moore, who has shown nowhere near the promise that Curtis has, is also extremely frustrating.

Steve: There is clearly a disconnect between the manager and the players. If they can't implement simple tactics such as how to correctly defend a throw-in then something is badly wrong. We've heard pretty much the same post-match analysis from the manager for many weeks now. Very little has changed.

Bob: It was a game of two halves. The first half was quite poor, the second half was really good when the three centre-forwards on the field create 17 chances, but we have to start putting the ball in the net very soon.

Gerry: Shot ourselves in the foot yet again, switched off twice and get punished for it and it could have been a lot worse if it wasn't for Jack Butland. We don't have the skill levels or the technical ability to play possession football out from the back. We're a car crash waiting to happen. Second half was better but still never really looked like turning it around.

Brian: On a positive note, Rangers made a few mistakes but I've seen an improvement on previous league performances and Butland had a star man performance. On a negative note, it was defensive mistakes again and another defeat.

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Former Scotland forward James McFadden on Sportsound

First half was disappointing, Rangers were the architects of their own downfall going behind.

They were far better in the second half, but why do you wait until it looks like the game is gone to make changes? The players look like the shackles are off when they change formation.

They look a danger to themselves at times when they have the ball. The goals the concede, and have conceded, have been really poor. Every goal is avoidable. It's frustrating to watch.

Ex-Rangers striker Ally McCoist on TNT Sports

There has to be a serious level of criticism at Rangers defensively - as players and as a team.

Former Hearts manager Robbie Neilson on BBC Scottish football podcast

Things start to spiral and we're getting to that point now where the negativity towards the manager is definitely having an effect on the players. There's no doubt about that.

The only way to turn that is to win football matches. I don't know if they've got the squad to win six, seven, eight in a row, but that's the only way they'll turn it.

It looks like Russell Martin has taken as much pressure as he can on himself to try and get it away from the players.

But I think at the moment it's coming back on the players as well now because it's got quite an extreme stage.

Ex-Rangers full-back Alan Hutton on TNT Sports

Rangers can't continue this way, if I'm honest. This is unheard of for a Rangers team. It's the manner of the way they are conceding. And when they go forward, the cohesion isn't quite there.

With Russell Martin under pressure after a poor start as Rangers head coach, Steven Gerrard is believed to be open to a return to Ibrox, the 45-year-old Englishman having been out of a job since leaving Saudi Pro League outfit Al-Ettifaq in January. (Football Insider), external

Rafael Benitez attended Arsenal's Champions League win over Olympiacos as the 65-year-old managerial legend remains keen on a return to the dugout after leaving Celta Vigo and former Liverpool midfielder Vladimir Smicer thinks the Spaniard would be ideal for Celtic or Rangers. (Daily Record), external

Davide Ancelotti, who was beaten to the Rangers head coach job by Russell Martin, admits he cannot be sure of retaining his job with Botafogo as the 36-year-old Italian concedes they are out of the Brazilian title race after a disappointing first campaign in charge. (Daily Record), external

Read Friday's Scottish Gossip in full.

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Rangers head coach Russell Martin says: "I'm frustrated because we give away two poor goals, soft goals. We did so much work on them recently we were just not alive.

"It's from our throw-in where we don't do what we work on. That's my frustration, the mentality of the group in the first half hour, then we have a mountain to climb. We came away in Europe and created so many chances, you shouldn't have nothing to show for it because you concede two such poor goals. We created a lot, we should have more to show for it.

"The difference in mentality from the first half hour to the next 60 minutes was too far apart really.

"It is concentration, it's mentality. It's mentality, it's not a technical or tactical problem.

"We work on our throw-ins a lot because they're a big part of the game. If we do what we work on a lot and it doesn't come off, that's acceptable but we don't, we just throw it down the line and then we're so open. We set up to do what we want to do and work on and then we don't do it."

On second goal: "At any level you play at you have to be alert and bright and they just didn't do it in that moment.

"We hurt ourselves tonight because they didn't create anything from open play. It's hurtful and frustrating.

"We played some really brilliant football and created some fantastic chances. the players run so hard for each other, that gives me energy. I'm not coming out here and blaming anyone but it's a fact, I think any player would say we hurt ourselves tonight.

"We're only two games in. I think you need four wins on average to qualify so there's plenty more time to do that."

Rangers' rotten start to the season continued with a second consecutive Europa League defeat, this time at the hands of Austrian champions Sturm Graz.

Read the match report here.

Have your say on the game and result here.

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Is it time for Russell Martin to ditch his football philosophy as he seeks a winning run?

The Rangers head coach has been criticised for a lack of tactical flexibility in his tumultuous early tenure.

And as Martin targets his first back-to-back wins by securing three Europa League points at Sturm Graz tonight, former Rangers goalkeeper Cammy Bell says it's time to set aside his principles.

Speaking on BBC Scotland's Scottish Football Podcast, Bell said: "There have been certain times that I've watched the games, and I feel like they did need to adapt and change, whether it's tactical changes, whether formation or the personnel, but it's not happened.

"For me, it's all about winning games now. They need to get on a run, they need to get on a run straight from tonight, and they need to continue that on Sunday.

"So forget formations, forget tactics, it's all about winning. He needs to realise that as well, he needs to realise he needs to win this game tonight.

"I totally understand managers have principles and ways of playing, but ultimately, [when] you come under that amount of scrutiny and you're trying to get a bit of leeway with fans, you have to win.

"I don't think they're slick, I don't think the build-up's great and ultimately I don't think they get Rangers fans excited when they get into the final third.

"I don't think they ask enough questions of opposition defences."