Copyright glasgowworld
David Martindale is refusing to buy into the idea that Rangers are there for the taking - but the Livingston boss won’t tell his players to treat Sunday’s Premiership clash as a free hit either. The Lions host Russell Martin’s struggling side this weekend, with the Ibrox head coach under immense pressure as he chases an elusive first league win of the campaign. The Light Blues find themselves in a full-scale crisis after failing to back up last weekend’s Premier Sports Cup quarter-final win over Hibs against Belgian outfit Genk in their opening Europa League fixture on Thursday night, going down 1-0 at home. Martin takes his players through to West Lothian knowing another setback could spell the end of his disastrous reign, with many irate fans of the opinion that the Englishman is now clinging to his job by a thread. Looking ahead of Sunday’s game, Martindale was asked if their opponents well-publicised struggles would have any impact on their preparations. He responded: “No, not at all. I’m trying not to comment on other clubs, to be honest. “We have just come up this year, I’ve been caught out by that in previous years. I just want to focus on Livingston. Two big decisions went against Rangers in the Hearts game - that could have been a totally different turning point. “So I don’t really buy into the narrative that they’re not in a good place. I think they’re in a transitional period and we’ll still need to be at our very best if we’re going to get anything from the game. “I’m really looking forward to them coming here. We’ll be going out there to try and get three points.” Despite their precarious league position, Martin insists confidence levels among his squad “is the best it has been” since he was appointed earlier this summer. Rangers have won just four of their 14 games in all competitions so far this term, but they remain winless in the Scottish Premiership and sit second bottom of the table. The Englishman reckons they can still win the title and claims he doesn’t listen to any “outside noise”, despite an overwhelming majority of fans calling for him to be sacked. Around 12,000 tickets went unsold for the clash against Genk - a reflection of a deepening apathy among the club’s fanbase. And another loss away to Livingston could prove to be the final nail in the coffin for Martin. Your next read: Richard Keys launches fiery Rangers outburst as 49ers told to sack Ibrox 'chancer' who's in wrong movie
