Russell Martin's brutal Rangers confession threatens his judgement with next manager fuzzy feeling missing

Russell Martin is the first to say so. He was “crap” at Rangers.

There’s no point trying to sugar-coat the performances he put in during his six-month loan stay.

The bitter results speak for themselves.

Two Old Firm games, NINE conceded and a third-place league finish behind Aberdeen.

Perhaps it’s those memories of Martin flailing about in a blue shirt for Graeme Murty’s ragged Rangers that are dampening some of the enthusiasm for his return to Ibrox as manager.

But is there a danger that Martin’s reputation as an Ibrox flop is clouding the Light Blue legions’ views on his potential to be a hit as Gers gaffer?

Or maybe it is the patchy record of the expansive yet inconsistent teams he’s built as a boss that have sparked the lukewarm reaction to his name on the Ibrox shortlist.

The man himself has his own view on his time in Glasgow.

Speaking back in February 2023 when in charge of Swansea, he held his hands up while being questioned on the future of Swans winger Morgan Whittaker - a then target for Gers boss Michael Beale.

"I’ve had Rangers fans message me on Linkedin saying let him go,” he said. “I apologised to them saying sorry I was crap at your club but it’s not my decision.”

Now it might be Martin having to weigh up a major call if the US consortium preparing to take control at Ibrox decide he’s the best man to replace Philippe Clement.

There’s an opening at Leicester too for which he is in the running. But would he fancy returning to Gers where the fans don’t exactly have a warm fuzzy feeling for him?

The former Scotland and Norwich defender arrived at Ibrox in January 2018 having not kicked a competitive ball since the previous August.

At 32, his legs were on the wane and he’d been dropped from a Canaries team