Russell Martin was 'disappointed' and 'angry' after their 'lucky' 1-1 draw with Motherwell, with James Tavernier putting them ahead and Emmanuel Longelo equalising late on, making it the third season in a row they have dropped points on the opening day.
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Russell Martin has said some Rangers players “need to get their egos in check” in a harsh assessment of their 1-1 draw with Motherwell on the opening day of the Scottish Premier League season.
“Some of them need to give up their ego. When you want to just run around and do what you want, that's when you have serious problems.”
Russell Martin has already stated that the real judgement on his Rangers side will come from the Scottish Premier League and he wasted no time in giving his players his opinion after another opening day drop.
The new manager refused to point to his Champions League achievements in relation to the draw with Motherwell at Fir Park, telling Sky Sports they were “lucky to get a point” despite being booed by fans at the end of the match.
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“We've fallen very far short of where we should have been and I'm extremely disappointed and saddened by that,” he said.
“They showed more courage than us, they were more aggressive than us.
“There has been a breakdown in this football club and it is not the fault of one person.
“By default, we go back to a state where everything is going really well, everyone is giving it their all, and everything is going great. When things aren't going well, we try to protect ourselves a little bit and maintain our position.
“When you just want to run and do what you want, there is a serious problem.
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Highlights from the Scottish Premier League match between Motherwell and Rangers at Fir Park.
“Some of them will have to put their egos aside, but I will look at us from a tactical point of view and take responsibility for that.
“But today it's not really a tactical problem, it's a question of mentality, and we got more than we deserved.”
“We need to figure out who is really willing to give it their all and who is not.
“But Europe is not an excuse. This club demands to be in Europe. We have qualified, so we have a lot of games in Europe and we need to do them much better than we did today.”
Pictured: Martin used Cyriel Dessers' behaviour as an example to other Rangers players.
Martin signed eight contracts in the summer and is hoping for more, but also warned players they will not stay to make up the shortfall.
“Cyriel [Dessers] is the only one we really counted on and he comes out and runs so fast. Some of them should look at him and take a cue from him.”
“People will stay if they don't want to leave the club. They will stay because they need to really understand what it means to play for this football club.
Sourse: skysports.com
