Russell Martin's Rangers savaged by ex-players and experts from UK to US with clear message sent to owners

Chants calling for the ex-Southampton boss to be sacked echoed around Ibrox Stadium once again at full-time with former Celtic striker Hyeon-Gyu Oh scoring the only goal of the match 10 minutes into the second half after Rangers were reduced to 10 men shortly before half-time following a red card for midfielder Mohamed Diomande for a reckless challenge.

The result leaves Martin with only four victories from his first 14 matches in charge of the Ibrox side having overseen the club’s worst start to a league season in 47 years as well as a chastening 9-1 aggregate hammering by Club Brugge in the Champions League play-off.

Martin's position is the talk of Scottish football and beyond with ex-players and pundits from across the UK and USA addressing the situation in the wake of the latest disappointment and sending a clear message to the club’s American owners over what needs to be done.

Here is what some of them had to say after the defeat to Genk...

Kris Boyd (ex-Rangers, Sky Sports)

"Looking at it right now, there is no other option than to start looking for, not only a new manager, but I think the recruitment needs an overhaul at Rangers once again. [Youssef] Chermiti was given an opportunity. I know Rangers went down to 10 men and it becomes difficult for him in the second half, but I never saw anything in the first half that's going to excite me and think, ‘yeah there's £8m, £10m or whatever it was on a striker’. When you're signing that type of player they have to come in and make the difference, and it's not happening. He's the one that's a big transfer fee, he's going to carry that, but there's others in that Rangers team that look miles off where they need to be if they are going to be successful. Ultimately, Russell Martin will be the one that ends up paying the price for it, but for me there is other people at the club that need to be held accountable because the disconnect from the stands onto the pitch and beyond is as bad as I've ever seen."

Jamie O'Hara (ex-Tottenham, talkSPORT):

“I don't think Rangers are a million miles away from Celtic. They might look like it right now because of the manager they've got in charge and the football they are playing. That is not a Rangers team. When I watch a Rangers team I see passion, fight, grit, atmosphere, that Scottish identity of what Scottish people are built on. I don't look at that team with Russell Martin and see a Rangers side. I see a soft, weak mentality team with a soft-centred manager and they are getting turned over at a canter."

Jason Cundy (ex-Chelsea and Tottenham, talkSPORT):

“I don't think this is a Russell Martin problem. It's a Rangers problem. Celtic have been too good for too long and I don’t know how that gap can be made up as quickly as Rangers fans would like. That gap is as big... even when they got relegated, it feels bigger now. Rangers were always going to go through the leagues and get back into the top division, but now they are streets behind. They might not win the title for another 10 years. That's what it looks like right now.”

Ally McCoist (ex-Rangers, TNT Sports):

"[The fans] are totally justified in being disappointed in what they are seeing. It certainly hasn't been good enough. Tonight was another disappointment. You can point to the deserved red card, but it goes deeper than that. I just felt coming into the stadium tonight, you could have blown me away. It was nothing like a normal atmosphere of any game, never mind a European game at Ibrox. There was an apathy, there was no life about the place on or off the pitch, which is really concerning. Listen, the manager is in big trouble. Something has to change - and change dramatically - and on the current evidence I can't see it happening."

Nigel Reo-Coker (ex-West Ham and Aston Villa, CBS Sports):

"It's hard to see any more road left for him. He's hanging on by a thread. A club of Rangers stature should not lose to Genk tonight. Yes, they did play with 10 men and did show a bit more fight and character towards the second half trying to get back into it but it should not be the cause. They should have done that from the start and we didn't see it. Genk actually had the better chances when it was all square, 11 v 11. So it's hard to take anything positive from this game from a Rangers perspective. Sometimes you have to look beyond the result, but the performances are not getting better and there is no identity. They want to play out from the back, but the players look like they have no idea what they are doing. For me, it's an absolute mess and the ownership need to put their hands up and say, 'we made the wrong decision and you have to move on from it'. This seems to me like it’s only going to get worse."

Charlie Davies (ex-USA international, CBS Sports):

"It's almost as if they got better playing with 10 men because they had to play with intensity. It was for the fans. You could tell there is no identity with the squad. There's not a good philosophy. If there was ever a time to move on from a manager at such an early tenure, it's now. When you take away the results, are you seeing exciting passages of play? Are you seeing certain roles that players have made their own, and saying this team gives us hope that they can challenge Celtic, or that they are moving in the right direction? Or that there is progress from playing on the counter attack and relying on set pieces, which they did last year, and did it well. But this is just a disaster all round."

Nico Cantor (analyst, CBS Sports):

"It feels like all the signs point towards Rangers needing to move on from Russell Martin. From an ownership perspective, it's such a dose of humility to admit, 'hey, we got it wrong'. If Bayer Leverkusen, one of the biggest teams in Germany, can do it after two matchdays and say 'hey, we got it wrong with Ten Hag' - they had to swallow that and be the first ones to admit, 'we got it wrong and we had to move on because the situation is dire'. This this feels like the lowest point since [Rangers] went into administration."

Stan Petrov (ex-Celtic, Premier Sports)

"There are no results, there is hardly anything you can pick from their game. The manager keeps saying, 'I need time'. There is no such thing as time when you are manager of Celtic or Rangers. You only get time if you win games. It's really poor to see. I've played against them I know how passionate their fans are and what the club stands for. It's difficult to see, but it's down to them. I was surprised with the appointment of Russell Martin. I don't think (he will last). Do the players believe in this manager? I don't think so. There's no style there, and you keep losing games."

Richard Dunne (ex-Man City and Ireland, Premier Sports):

"For me, it's crazy. Exactly what he did at Southampton he's trying to replicate at Rangers. He's trying to force a style of football on players that aren't capable of doing it. Rangers have some good players at other tactical aspects, not what they are trying to be forced down this road. As a manager he needs to have a look at himself, and go, 'do you know, my tactic doesn't even work in either league'. If you fail with Southampton, it's like, 'well the league is too tough for us', but he's failing with the second biggest club in Scottish football, and failing miserably. I can't see them sticking with him much longer."

Andy Halliday (ex-Rangers and current Motherwell, Sportsound):

"It's four wins in 14 now for Rangers. It's not even the results, it's the performance levels as well. Out of the 10 games Rangers haven't won, I can't say there's been one that they've deserved to win. I would love nothing more than for Russell Martin to turn it around but you have to see some form of evidence or improvement. You were hoping after the weekend result against Hibs they would kick on, but again it was another frustrating night.

“He said some stuff I agree with, and a lot of stuff I don't agree with. He continually mentioned about Diomande getting sent off in the 41st minute, so Rangers still had 41 minutes to create chances and score a goal. He said he was quite happy with the amount of control they had in the opening 41 minutes, but within that there was only one real opportunity with John Souttar's header cleared off line. I found it surprising that he was happy with the reaction to the sending off. I didn't see an aggressive Rangers team in the second half. Granted it's difficult with 10 men, but we watched Newcastle pay Liverpool, arguably the best team in England, two weeks ago with 10 men and dominate them and get two goals back. I didn't see Rangers being aggressive in the second half and I certainly didn't see them create chances either."