When a disappointed Russell Martin pitched up in the Viktoria Plzen press room after his side’s 2-1 loss on Tuesday night, his assessment of proceedings was in keeping with a short tenure to date.
Asked why his side’s profligacy in possession was so pronounced, he replied: “I said to the attacking guys: ‘It's not fair on the guys at the back to take the ball under such big pressure, Jack (Butland), he’s finding you, it’s not fair that you just turn it over so cheaply’.”
Butland, the main reason Rangers are here and not elsewhere in their European campaign, is hardly a playmaker in possession but the 32-year-old did his job with the ball under pressure against an aggressive side, locking on man for man. Cyriel Dessers’ lack of hold-up play felt all the more pronounced when Danilo arrived in his place on the hour mark and started to link attacks. The inability to capitalise on other transition opportunities in the closing stages of proceedings took any potential gloss off the night. The away side made too many mistakes in Czechia for their possession to take the sting out of the game – instead their possession only led to the concession of chances.
Asked if he was frustrated that risks taken deep in the pitch were not exploited by clinical actions at the top end post-match, Martin disagreed: “I don't think they were risks; I just think we turned the ball over. I don't mind risk; we needed more of it on Saturday. It wasn't risking the ball to try and score; it was just cheap passes and moments. When we did play with a bit of care and quality, we looked fantastic at times, but the gap between when we're really good with the ball and when we're not is too big, but that will come.”
And why did things improve marginally after Plzen scored their second of the night to make things edgy? Rather than digging in and turning backs to the wall, substitutes started to take “care” on the ball. That, Martin says, is how his side ought to see out games. That is his line in the sand and the real undercurrent of this conversation – the gap between good and bad is still very evident. You either buy into this fully as a player or not at all, half measures won’t do.
“The way we saw the game out for the last seven or eight minutes [was better], because Kieran took the ball, Nedim took the ball, Danilo took the ball, Danilo was fantastic. They actually started looking after each other with the ball, and that's how you see a game, not defending, in the opposition half with the ball.”
This is how Martin sees football and this is why, as he himself referenced at the weekend, there can be pain at the start of the implementation process of his style. Players, like fans, require convincing these methods work and subconsciously, their habits need the same reprogramming in high-stress moments during matches. Especially in what is such a tense environment, they need evidence what they are being asked to do will work.
As the Rangers Review wrote upon Martin’s arrival, pragmatism is misunderstood in football. The head coach, by his own standards, is coaching pragmatically because he wants his side to play this way in order to win matches, not please aesthetically. The question, naturally, until it works is does that belief hold up in this particular environment? Can it achieve the early buy-in to click down the line?
There is a sliding scale of dogmatism to pragmatism but no risk-free version of football. To one manager a long ball forward is a long way away from danger, to another it simply starts the opposition’s next attack and concedes control. Martin wants the ball at all costs, a far cry for members of this squad at Ibrox last season encouraged to spend big games without it. That tension is so obvious in moments where the ball is turned over.
Although Martin’s synonym for risk is perhaps different to most of those watching, or watching whatever Solidsport served up back home, his football undoubtedly requires a bravery, a buy-in and a level of intensity that hasn’t been adhered to at Rangers for so long if it is to work. The way his team switched off before both Plzen goals was reminiscent to some in the stadium of Giovanni van Bronckhorst showing a rare moment of rage on the Parkhead touchline as Glen Kamara and Ryan Kent turned their backs on a free-kick while Celtic started an attack during a 4-0 Old Firm win three years ago. Intensity has hardly been this club’s identity since.
The former Southampton boss is not winning the optics war in Glasgow early on, not helped by an underwhelming domestic start contrasting a support’s desperation for success on that front. And yet just over seven days ago in the home leg against Plzen Martin’s side played some excellent football. Memories are short here and because of what’s been served up in recent seasons, patience is as short as ever. Martin’s admission that every start at every club has, to a degree, followed this pattern may well be right. The difference now is the scale of team he is in charge of, and sheer desperation for a vision to believe in.
Martin also requires nights that show things are working. The first-leg against Plzen was just that but otherwise, save periods here or there, Rangers are yet to put together a real, complete performance. Before the match in the Czech Republic he and his staff showed a video to players featuring examples showing them play out under pressure, take the ball in tricky areas and be the ‘top’ team he believes in. Martin will know that his most important job as a leader is not convincing fans this can work, but players, especially those who’ve heard promises and predictions so many times before. More is required in the window too because, whether it be the current No.9 options without Hamza Igamane or issues of round pegs in square holes defensively, some are breaking moves down too regularly.
The numbers post-match rightly attracted a lot of attention. Plzen created an xG in excess of 3, attempted 27 shots and were the far stronger side. Rangers are conceding an unsustainable number of opportunities because of their looseness in possession. And make no mistake, Martin will demand that be rectified before he himself adapts, pragmatically speaking. Why? His vision centers on controlling the ball. That doesn’t mean Rangers will always be playing short, as Butland’s many long attempts to find the free man demonstrated. It does translate to, in this context, “looking after each other with the ball, and that's how you see a game, not defending, in the opposition half with the ball”.
The control sought here can be tricky to translate to risk in a domestic setting, however. Martin wants more risk but risk at right time, and that requires brave players to trust their judgement. The squad will look better with Thelo Aasgaard and Mikey Moore. A left-back is expected to arrive before Septempber and there’s ongoing discussions about the centre-forward position. Neither Dessers nor Danilo can be first choice – Igamane or another No.9 must be the chosen option.
This a difficult environment in which to play like this. Some worried during the recruitment process whether Ibrox could stomach a style . It will if it works, of course, but can it take the journey to getting there?
Many have stood by the touchline at Ibrox watching something they haven’t coached in recent years. Witnessing bad habits set the tone, seeing players lose hope in the midst of a toxic atmosphere.
The real skill in leadership, surely, is making people follow you. Trust your vision. Drink the Koolaid you serve. The long-term success of this project relies on achieving that belief.
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