Russell Martin on Rangers transfers, 49ers support, messages from fans on street - and his hairstyle

Martin has come under fire after failing to win his opening two league matches against Motherwell and Dundee to fall four points behind rivals Celtic in the early Premiership standings.

Heavy criticism also followed the 3-1 home defeat to Club Brugge in the Champions League play-off first leg on Tuesday where Rangers conceded three times in the opening 20 minutes to leave some fans streaming for the exits.

Martin now faces a defining week where his Rangers side head to St Mirren on Sunday looking for a first league win at the third attempt, then travel to Belgium for the second leg against Brugge on Wednesday before hosting Celtic in the first Old Firm derby of the season the following weekend.

But he insists club chairman Andrew Cavanagh, who completed a joint takeover of the club this summer alongside 49ers Enterprises duo Paraag Marathe and Gretar Steinsson, are fully behind his rebuild with sporting director Kevin Thelwell and chief executive Patrick Stewart also lending support.

‘It's why I got the job’

"I've had nothing but support from Andrew, Paraag, Gretar, Kevin, Patrick here," he said during his pre-match press conference on Friday ahead of the trip to Paisley. "All the staff here have been fantastic. They understand that to build something, it might take a bit of time. It's why I got the job. It wasn't an easy process but I really wanted it. Eventually they decided they wanted me after a lot of conversations and then only when you're in somewhere then you start to see, 'okay this bit needs sorting, that needs sorting', then you have to prioritise. Our job on the pitch is to prioritise some of the stuff that's hurting us a little bit at the moment and their job is the same off the pitch to make sure that we're in a really good place and we have some foundations to actually build from.

"So, yeah, they've been great, really supportive in terms of the transfer window. Everyone's calm inside here and everyone is just focusing on what we can impact and what we can do moving forward."

Martin has also been encouraged by the messages of support he has received from Rangers supporters he has encountered around Glasgow.

"Everyone I bump into in the city, they've been great," he said. "Maybe I'm walking around in the right areas but they've been great. Really supportive, really understanding. I've felt nothing but that. So when you're sitting behind a keyboard it's really easy to say what you want. Back in the day you'd have to go down a pub and chat with your mates about how bad someone was and it's gone for a week, but now it's just incessant, constant. It's the way of the world and if you're a football manager you have to accept that. So, it's not a problem.

“Our job is to make sure people feel very differently about it in a month's time, two months' time and moving forward. I think that's all I'm going to focus on now. We've had really honest chats with the group of players about what's gone on, how they feel about what's gone on and now we have to look forward and make sure we start winning games, winning in our way and really building."

‘Too sweaty on the sideline’

Martin accepts that was not a universally popular appointment amid links to Steven Gerrard and Davide Ancelotti over the summer. He even brought up his hairstyle and choice of matchday attire, which sees him arrive in a suit and tie only to change into a black t-shirt for his dugout duties, while admitting that there will be some fans he will probably never win over.

He said: "I was well aware when I took the job I wasn't the most popular appointment because I don't have a fancy name and I had a spell here as a player that wasn't fantastic. So I came in with my eyes wide open and knew what to expect.

"The noise is something I just can't control. And the only way you can control it is by winning football matches and there'll still be some people unhappy that I've got long hair and a centre parting and I can't wear a shirt and tie because I'm too sweaty on the sideline. I'll wear it to the games, out of respect, but I just can't wear it during the game. So you're never going to please anyone regardless if we win loads of trophies here, which is the plan, I'm pretty sure there'll still be sceptics. So it's not my focus. Be here every day as good as I can for the players, bring as much energy for the staff and the players as we possibly can. And we've done that everywhere and we've enjoyed it everywhere. And we're now here and we have to do the same."

Martin confirmed that he expects further arrivals and departures from Rangers before the transfer window shuts on September 1. Jose Cifuentes has joined Toronto FC, with the MLS club holding an option to buy next summer, with Ben Davies is close to joining Oxford United and Ridvan Yilmaz is set to rejoin Besiktas in Turkey.

"There'll be more players come in and I think there'll be some players leave as well," he added. "I can't wait for the window to shut. I think every head coach would tell you the same. There's too many people here that are uncertain about their futures at the moment. It's really difficult to then be all in all the time when you have half an eye on what's happening outside. And it's no fault of their own. There's guys that have been really clear that their futures are not here and they're slowly being resolved and they're moving on and happy with what they're going to do next. And then there's some guys who are sort of a bit in and a bit out depending on what their agent tells them some days. That's not a surprise to me. We've had it everywhere.

"At Southampton, I think we had 24 players told me they were going to leave in two days and I think 18 of them left in the end, but it's not been like that here. They've trained really hard but of course it's difficult when you're getting loads of stuff in. So I can't wait for that to shut. I think the team will look different. We're really happy with the guys we've got at the minute and how they're training, how they're behaving. But I can't wait for it to be resolved one way or the other, but I think there'll definitely be people come in and people leave."

Martin also confirmed that Cyriel Dessers is unlikely to return from injury against St Mirren with the trip to Brugge in midweek a more likely comeback, while Hamza Igamane is not yet ready to start matches as he builds up his fitness following injury and a disrupted pre-season.