‘Very surprised’ – Billy Dodds couldn’t believe what Rangers fans did after Max Aarons winner
Max Aarons’ late winner for Rangers at Livingston may have relieved a bit of pressure on manager Russell Martin.
Rangers looked to be heading for a sixth straight match without victory in the Scottish Premiership before Aarons swept home a low strike in the 94th minute.
Martin is on the brink of the sack at Rangers, and summer signing Thelo Aasgaarad flopped at Livingston, but Aarons’ goal may have saved the managers job for another week.
The Gers could have made life easier for themselves as James Tavernier saw a first half penalty saved before Derek Cornelius’ goal was ruled out for handball.
Billy Dodds ‘surprised’ at Rangers support following Max Aarons winner
Rangers fans have been protesting about Martin and CEO Patrick Stewart, with supporters wanting both to depart Ibrox.
The calls for Martin to be sacked did not disperse following Aaron’s winner, and speaking on Sportscene [29 September], former Rangers striker Billy Dodds was “surprised” that the chants continued following the goal.
“Rangers get the winner then there’s surreal moments when the chants start coming straight away at Russell Martin, so very surprised by that as soon as Rangers scored the winner,” Dodds said.
“Russell Martin gets a bit of stick for keeping it the same but he changed it and he went a 4-4-2 with a little imbalance and then suddenly he changes to a back three and they get the winner.
“So you can’t argue with that so tactically people have to say he got it spot on cause he tried to go and win the game.”
Rangers continued to enjoy the majority of the possession at Livingston, but one of Martin’s biggest problems this season has been to create chances and score goals from that.
Against Livingston, Rangers should have been two-nil up before Mo Sylla’s equaliser for the hosts, so Martin will be relieved at Aarons’ first goal for the club coming at the perfect moment.
| Possession | 65% |
| Total Shots | 15 |
| Shots on Target | 7 |
| Big Chances | 4 |
| Expected Goals | 2.29 |
Rangers could benefit if Hearts cause shock league triumph
Rangers’ first win of the league season lifts them up to eighth in the table, nine points behind leaders Hearts who overtook Celtic following the Hoops’ draw with Hibs.
However, speaking to Football Insider, Keith Wyness believes Celtic and Rangers could benefit from Hearts winning the league.
Hearts have won all but one game this season, when they showed character to come from three goals down to draw with Motherwell.
It would take a remarkable comeback from their current position for Rangers to win the title, and the clash between Hearts and Celtic at Tynecastle in the next few weeks will determine whether the Edinburgh club have what it takes to run the Hoops close.