Skip to playerSkip to main content
Rangers secure a 2-0 victory against Hibs, but fan protests targeting manager Russell Martin steal the spotlight. Nico Raskin's return and goal bring joy to Ibrox, yet the demonstrations raise questions about the line between criticism and personal attacks.

The discussion covers the intensity of the protests, the banners displayed, and whether the criticism of Martin has become overly personal. There's also consideration of Patrick Stewart, the CEO, and whether he's been given enough time since arriving from Manchester United.

Raskin's impactful return and man-of-the-match performance are highlighted as crucial for Rangers. The hope is that Martin can learn from the situation and that both parties can refocus on football amidst a critical run of games for the team.

#RangersFC #ScottishFootball #FanProtests #NicoRaskin
Transcript
00:00Progress 2-0 versus Hibs and Nico Raskin returning to the squad and scoring as well,
00:07much to the delight of everybody inside Ibrox and Bojan Miofsky.
00:12Made it two before halftime to send them through to the last four.
00:15Perhaps in some books surprising given how much was put on Hibs as potential favourites for this game,
00:21but they didn't really turn up for the dance.
00:23The big talking points in this one were of course the protests against Russell Martin,
00:29some people looking in at Scottish football must think we're the weirdest fan bases in the country.
00:33One at the top of the league is wanting the board sacked, one at the bottom of the league is also wanting the board sacked.
00:37So a very strange scenario I suppose just with the way things have ended up.
00:43But what did you make of the, I suppose, A, Nico Raskin's return,
00:47but probably the more dominant talking point from the game was Russell Martin's protest,
00:50there was banners outside the ground, the game was delayed in the first half,
00:55Patrick Stewart had stuff against him, the CEO, in the second half.
00:59And I don't know about you, but with the Russell Martin stuff, I think criticism is faring well,
01:04because his teams have been poor.
01:05I even think in this game, up until Martin Boyles, this whole goal for handball,
01:10they were the second best in this without Hibs actually playing very well.
01:13I still don't think it was a perfect performance,
01:15but it almost veered on personal with Russell Martin,
01:19which is where I kind of draw the line.
01:21It almost felt like the abuse was, it went beyond criticisms of his managerial style and things like that,
01:27and it went towards just going after him as a guy.
01:31Yeah, yeah, which is totally bang out of order.
01:34At the end of the day, I think Scottish football fans can be a kind of fickle bunch at times.
01:39And I think, you know, it's all fine and well aiming your criticism towards one person.
01:46But as you mentioned there, when it does become personal, we don't know.
01:49For example, he might have had family members in the crowd there as well.
01:53They're having to obviously listen to that.
01:55But it is crossing the line.
01:58From his perspective, he won't be giving a toss really about the results,
02:04the performance, sorry.
02:05It was all about the result, first one in six for them,
02:08given that kind of fan fury had reached boiling point going into this game.
02:13Touched on Patrick Stewart there as well, obviously.
02:16He hasn't even been in the door a full year yet,
02:21since he arrived from Manchester United.
02:23So I think he needs to be given a bit more time to try and win over some of the supporters.
02:31But yeah, no, for me, it does cross the line when it starts to get personal.
02:39There's no need for it.
02:41You know, you can take your hatred out in other ways rather than doing something,
02:47you know, saying things that shouldn't be said.
02:51And so, yeah, obviously he has Nico Raskin to thank.
02:56I thought it was kind of pretty funny, wasn't it,
02:58when he was named man of the match on the back of the game as well.
03:01I think the majority of the fans inside the ground were howling in approval
03:05when that announcement was made.
03:09But he certainly made a big difference to them, didn't he?
03:11We know he's a quality player.
03:13He's a full Belgian international.
03:16And let's hope for Russell Martin's sake that he did say, didn't he, last week,
03:23that he'll learn a lot from this scenario as well going forward in terms of how he's dealt with the whole situation.
03:30And we don't know the full ins and outs as to what exactly has gone on.
03:36But it's clearly been bubbling away under the surface for some time now.
03:40And it's best for both parties that he can put this behind them and focus on the football,
03:46given, you know, as you touched on, Rangers have a crucial run of games coming up.
Comments

Recommended