Brendan Rodgers delivers unexpected Russell Martin defence
Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers has surprisingly defended under-fire Rangers head-coach Russell Martin from criticism after previous Ibrox bosses voiced their concerns at the club’s current form.
Russell Martin’s ability to manage Rangers is currently being doubted by many after a shoddy start to life as boss, with the club out of the Champions League and sitting 10th in the Scottish Premiership.
Rangers fans urgently called for the club to sack Martin after their humiliating 9-1 aggregate defeat to Club Brugge, but he has remained in his job despite the club still being winless after their first five league games.
Football Insider revealed on Friday (19 September) that Rangers’ upcoming clash against Hibernian could prove decisive for Martin, with a sacking potentially in store if they fail to progress into the quarter-final of the Premier Sports Cup.
Hearts boss Derek McInnes passionately defended Martin last week, saying calls for his exit were “so unfair,” and a surprise development has now seen Brendan Rodgers, manager of the Gers’ fierce rivals Celtic, also fight the 39-year-old’s corner.
Brendan Rodgers demands more ‘respect’ for Russell Martin
Rangers fans have not been the only ones critical of Martin, with former interim coach Neil McCann recently admitting on BBC Sportscene that he is “not sure” if he can revive his struggling tenure, with an apparent sense of “resignation” about his future in the air after their recent defeat to Hearts.
His colleague Billy Dodds also recently told the GoRadio Football Show that he feels Martin’s problems with key midfielder Nico Raskin are “a bit personal” and so that is “where the problem lies” at Ibrox.
To add to that, last season’s caretaker boss Barry Ferguson also publicly voiced his thoughts on Martin taking his team on a bonding trip to Loch Lomond earlier this week on GoRadio, saying: “Look, managers have all got different ways, maybe to take them out of the environment for the day, but for me, I would be on the training pitch and making sure I am getting a team ready to rock on the Saturday in the quarter-finals against Hibs.”
Celtic boss Rodgers ignored the two clubs’ rivalry and chose to fiercely defend Martin’s decision to take his side on the trip in his pre-match press conference on Friday (19 September), while also questioning the ex-Gers trio for not having more sympathy for the 39-year-old considering they were in his position last season.
He said: “I saw something in the week when the team (Rangers) went on a team-building exercise…yeah, every team does that. In another time, if Russell (Martin) had done that and they had won a few games, everyone would be saying: ‘well what a great idea'”
“I see the scrutiny that’s on Russell, and whatever happens for him, he will be better for it. I have some issues around the moral aspect when I see people commenting on how he’s doing, when not that long ago they were stood in his shoes, or sat on the bench.
“I don’t like that, when I see a manager being pulled on certain parts or tactics of the game, when not that long ago they couldn’t figure that out either. Unless you’ve been in the shoes of a manager or a coach, you don’t really understand what that person is going through, and if you have, then you should respect more. You know how tough it is, you know certain things you can’t change, that you can’t bring out into the open.
“I spoke to Russell after our game at Ibrox. He’s a good man…give him room to breathe. Of course, there is always demand, there always will be, but it’s other people outside of that where I struggle to see how they can say the things they say.”
Rodgers has not experienced similar shouts for him to leave this season, with the Hoops currently sat top of the league, but it is convenient for him to talk about Rangers’ struggles rather than Celtic supporters’ current major grievances with their board.
Rodgers has his own problems at Celtic despite on-field success
Celtic have enjoyed back-to-back league triumphs in the last two campaigns under Rodgers’ guidance, but much like Rangers, their ability to make waves in European football has been questioned this season after they recently crashed out of Champions League qualifying to huge underdogs Kairat Almaty.
Fans voiced their displeasure at the club’s recent lack of transfer activity with chants of “sack the board” throughout numerous games while the window was still open, while Celtic supporters were seriously unhappy at a recent statement from the chiefs that aimed to explain the reasoning behind their dealings throughout the window.
The Scottish Sun recently reported that a source inside Celtic has suggested that senior figures at Parkhead are concerned that Rodgers is trying to engineer his exit amid disagreements over transfers, but he hit back at those claims last week, saying: “I thought it was a cowardly action by whoever it is.”
It is clear that, even though the Northern Irishman’s heart was likely in the right place as he defended Martin, it is not exactly that kind of thing that Hoops fans will want to hear given their own woes on the green side on Glasgow.