You couldn’t possibly have argued with a single syllable which left Russell Martin’s mouth on the trackside at Fir Park on Saturday evening.
A coruscating assessment of a coterie of underachievers with a long-standing attitude problem was delivered calmly and was largely well received by the light blue legions returning to their buses and cars after paying good money to witness another excuse of a performance.
Martin may be new to the scene. The kind of feeble display Rangers put on in South Lanarkshire as the domestic season began in earnest was old hat.
Outfought across 90 minutes and mighty fortunate to leave the ground with a point, he accused his players of slipping into ‘self-preservation mode’ while demanding that certain players ‘drop their ego’.
He exempted Lyall Cameron and Cyriel Dessers from criticism. The rest were verbally machine gunned. Storm Floris had nothing on this.
The thoughts of Michael Beale and Philippe Clement across the weekend would have been intriguing.
Russell Martin was keen to offer a considered explanation of his weekend outburst
The Rangers boss was far from impressed with what he saw from his side at Fir Park
Max Aarons runs away from Tawanda Maswanhise in a rare show of urgency from the visitors
Both managers maintained a diplomatic approach when a similar story unfolded at Rugby Park and Tynecastle on the opening days of the two previous campaigns.
Perhaps the fact that neither man saw out those seasons had something to do with Martin unleashing both barrels when he did.
The same old faces have also seen Giovanni van Bronckhorst off the premises. They repeatedly talk of working harder, fighting for the shirt and the standards which they’ve fallen short of. It’s all been playing on a loop for more years than anyone cares to remember.
However understandable and perhaps overdue the weekend rant of the current incumbent may have been, it was also extremely high risk.
Billy Dodds made his feelings on the squad’s weak mentality clear from the safety of a radio studio once he and interim manager Barry Ferguson had cleared their desks.
Martin is three games into what he’ll hope is a long and successful tenure at the club. He’s now signed nine players since taking charge, but only four of them started at Motherwell.
The new Rangers boss says he received the backing of many former Ibrox figures after his rant
Much as he’d probably like to wave a magic wand and make the many serial failures disappear, he’s stuck with them for the time being.
And, like it or not, he’s going to have to depend on some of them when their Champions League ambitions go on the line on against Viktoria Plzen this evening.
Anyone who anticipated the 39-year-old expressing a scintilla of regret at publicly going all-in so early when he faced the media was bound to be disappointed, though.
‘I’m just not here to play any games and be political and all that,’ stated Martin. ‘I think I’m in a job that demands certain things and when we fall short of that there’s just no point in hiding behind stuff.
‘The fundamental problem on Saturday was not knowledge, it was not ability, it was attitude. I wasn’t emotional on Saturday. It was exactly what I said to the players.
‘I think this football club and the supporters will demand certain things that they have to be shown every single minute you’re on the pitch.
Martin attempts to convey his message from the touchline but was left furious at the late goal
‘It’s the same old stuff I said from day one, which is fight, willingness to run, to help each other out.
‘It is hard to play for this club, it’s not for everyone, it’s not easy. You have to be a really resilient and strong person.’
Since Saturday, the merits of his savage criticism have formed the basis of a national debate.
There’s an old school of thought which cautions against a boss ever criticising his players in public. Many others have commended him for boldly issuing a few home truths.
Unrepentant, Martin was quick to stress that his motivation was only to ensure that those who cross the white line from now on under him do themselves justice.
‘I think if they know us by now as a group of coaching staff, that it all comes from a place of love, really, and care for them,’ he added.
‘Myself, Gilly (Matt Gill, assistant) the coaches, we are here, ultimately, for the players. We’re here to win football matches. But as coaches, day to day, we are here to help the players.
Martin says he is trying to help his players enjoy life at Rangers more than they have been
‘That’s our job. To help them develop and improve, to help them enjoy playing for a club like this because I don’t think too many of them have enjoyed it enough.
‘I don’t come out and say that because I want to be ruthless and all that stuff. If they know me as a person, people that do know me, then I’ve come from a place of love and to help them to want them to be better.’
The cynic might question if any amount of carrot dangling or public flaying will make the slightest bit of difference to seasoned professionals who are seemingly so stuck in their ways.
Martin, evidently, believes he can succeed where so many before him have failed.
‘It’s learning behaviour and habits,’ he stressed. ‘We need to create better habits throughout the whole team, throughout the whole club. And habits that we can actually rely on when times get tough, rather than the whole piece falling apart and imploding.’
He feels he needs more leaders. These need not necessarily be brought in from elsewhere.
‘I think we need to create culture,’ he explained. ‘I think we need to develop some leaders that are already here because I think we have some that are really capable for sure and, yeah, I think it would be helpful if we can maybe add one or two that so when you look around and the game gets tough, you can really rely on them.
Max Aarons and Joe Rothwell lead the team out for training ahead of their clash against Plzen
‘It’s not about shouting and ranting and raving. It’s about being selfless.’
There’s a personal aspect to all of this. By his own admission, Martin wasn’t the most gifted footballer to walk the earth.
But through determination and a refusal to be outworked by anyone he played with or against, he turned out in the English Premier League and for Scotland.
If he was able to run and work as hard as anyone, he isn’t going to accept watching far more gifted players on his watch go through the motions.
‘I achieved what I did in my career purely from hard work and being resilient. It wasn’t talent at all,’ he acknowledged. ‘And I captained of most of the teams I’ve played for because I wanted to help people and I wanted to work for the team.
‘I just think it has to be a minimum requirement. As a footballer, you work so hard to get to somewhere like this.
‘To play at a club like this, you have to have a level of talent and a level of resilience to find your way here. And when you get here, you can’t take your foot off the gas.’
