By Ross Pilcher

Copyright dailyrecord

Relieved Russell Martin admits he’s taken a perverse joy from his rocky start as Rangers boss. Now he wants his besieged side to find their own sense of Ibrox elation as they kick-off their Europa League campaign. Under-fire boss Martin succeeded in staring down furious fan protests during Saturday’s win over Hibs as Gers clinched a place in the Premier Sports Cup semis . Around 1500 seething supporters gathered outside the stadium to demand the 39-year-old’s sacking. But despite being public enemy No1 around Govan, Martin insists he’s still loving every minute of being Rangers manager. Now he hopes to see his players warm to the task too as they square off against Belgian side Genk on Thursday. He said: “Being a head coach or manager of any team or club is not easy. There’s obviously so many opinions because of the level of interest in this game and how much it means to people. “I’ve actually, in a perverse way, enjoyed that as well. I think you have to try and find enjoyment in everything. “I’ve said to the players, I’ve said to the staff and it counts for us as well as individuals, the amount of growth that can come from this, in this difficult period in learning, could be huge, could be brilliant for everyone, myself included. “We just have to keep working, do what we believe in and trust that the outcome will be positive.” Martin admits his squad haven’t enjoyed the brutal criticism that has crashed over them this season. But he believes he’s starting to see them grow as a collective unit following last week’s infamous team-bonding trip to Loch Lomond . And he fired back at pundits – including former Tottenham midfielder Jamie O’Hara – who insisted he should have taken his players to the pub to drown their sorrows. Asked if his men were enjoying things as much as he was, he grinned: “No, not so much! Our job as coaches is to help players as much as possible. “But when you’re in the midst of it, there’s so many games, you don’t have time to really take stock, so it’s really difficult for the players to maintain a sense of self and actually to enjoy and be conscious of what’s going on because it all becomes a bit robotic. “So, it’s been a really interesting process for that. That was the whole point of taking them out of this environment last week. “Ex-pros talk about it, ‘just take them out for a round of golf or take them out drinking.’ But it’s not the answer, just escaping it. “So, we have to embrace what comes with this football club. Because it’s an amazing challenge, the intensity of it all. And as I said to them, the potential for them if we can really get going in this place. The potential for them to enjoy and be successful is amazing. The more they find joy in it, the better you’ll see them perform.” Martin admits he was relieved to get back to winning ways against Hibs after a damaging defeat to Hearts left his side languishing down in 11th place in the Premiership. But he knows his team must build on that run if they are to keep the fans of their backs. He said: “I’ll be really honest, I was really relieved on Saturday to win. But I’m really loving the process of working here and working with the players and the staff and I felt nothing but support from them and the owners and the leadership team here. “But there’s obviously a level of scrutiny on you all the time, so with the win, rather than joy, it was relief and now that we need to build and go again. “We have to get better, we have to win more games and hopefully Saturday will be the start of something for us.” Thursday Gers’ first European clash since they were spanked for six by Gent’s compatriots Club Brugge. And Martin said “We’ve taken a bit of time to recover from that. It was a really, really difficult night – but we won’t ever feel like that again.” The Light Blues will be without the suspended Max Aarons but Joe Rothwell returns from injury.