By Lewis Anderson

Copyright glasgowworld

Under-fire Russell Martin finds himself in a precarious position at Ibrox with an overwhelming amount of fans calling for the Rangers boss to be axed. The Light Blues have yet to win in the Scottish Premiership this season after five games and failed to quality for the Champions League after a humiliating 9-1 aggregate defeat to Club Brugge in their play-off tie. Martin, however, still retains the support of the club’s hierarchy and is expected to remain in he dugout for this weekend’s Premier Sports Cup quarter-final showdown against Hibs. But another disappointing result would surely spell the end of the road for the Englishman, who opted to take his struggling stars on a team bonding exercise in Loch Lomond on Monday morning to try and drag them out of their downward spiral following a disastrous start to the campaign. Irate supporters have been left questioning when the Gers board will finally decide to take action and part ways with the 39-year-old. There’s already proof in the pudding that the club’s new American owners won’t tolerate failing managers for long. You just have to look at Javi Garcia’s ill-fated spell in charge of Leeds United in 2023 as a prime example. The Spaniard was at the helm of the Yorkshire giants for approximately 72 days from the day of his appointment on February 21st until he was sacked on May 3rd, ensuring his tenure lasted 12 games and just over two months. A cut-throat statement released by the club at the time of Garcia’s departure read: “Leeds United can confirm that Javi Gracia will leave the club after 12 games in charge. Zigor Aranalde, Mikel Antia and Juan Solla, who joined Gracias, will also leave the club. The remaining four games of the season will be overseen by experienced coach Sam Allardyce.” There’s no doubt that Martin has been backed financially during the summer transfer window, splashing out £26 million on 13 new players. However, the Gers board know their ambitious spend needs backed up with results on the pitch and based on the current situation, that is not materialising. That means it has now become imperative that Rangers book their spot at Hampden this weekend, having won their only domestic match so far this season in the competition against League One side Alloa Athletic. Chairman Andrew Cavenagh and 49ers Enterprises chief Paraag Marathe will also be cautiously aware that the previous trend before they took over the football club was that some managers, particularly Giovanni Van Bronckhorst, were dismissed too prematurely. Your next read: I’ve devoted 10 years of service to Rangers – the current situation under Russell Martin is as bad as I’ve ever seen it