Ibrox crowd vents fury at Russell Martin as Rangers collapse to loss

Martin selected the same side that were held by Celtic last time out as Nico Raskin watched on from the Ibrox stands. The Belgian would have felt the anger from the support around him as Lawrence Shankland put Hearts ahead after 21 minutes.

Shankland doubled the lead and made sure of the points in the closing stages. His spot-kick - awarded after a Mohamed Diomande foul on Harry Milne - was saved but he converted at the second attempt.

This was a historic day for Hearts. It was one that saw the record books altered once again as Rangers recorded a fifth league game without a victory. This was bad. Really bad.

Martin fighting for his future

The must-win game has been lost. The last remnants of faith have been lost, too. This was the afternoon that Martin saw the Ibrox crowd really turn against him. The ire was directed towards the dugout and the questions will be directed to those in the corridors of power.

Rangers are winless in five Premiership fixtures. The deficit to Celtic will increase if their Old Firm rivals pick up anything from Rugby Park but the gap to Hearts stands as nine. As Derek McInnes savoured a historic victory, Martin was left to ponder how much longer he will get to try and get himself out of the mess he has put himself in.

This is unacceptable and unsustainable. There was no American contingent in the Director’s Box at Ibrox but word – and the strength of feeling – will soon make its way across the Atlantic. It is becoming louder by the day. Martin headed straight down the tunnel at the final whistle.

Supporters turned up in their numbers out of a sense of loyalty, more in hope than expectation. They were badly let down by this manager and his players once again. Many headed for the exits long before the final whistle. Those that stayed behind did so only to vent their anger. They were perfectly entitled to do so.

Style of play? What style of play?

The 30-minute mark arrived without Rangers registering a shot on target. That, of course, followed the 90 minutes against Celtic. It is quite an achievement for a Rangers side to go two hours without troubling an opposition goalkeeper at Ibrox. This was, once again, utterly dreadful stuff from Martin’s side.

The first moment that troubled Alexander Schwolow came from Thelo Aasgaard. From the left channel, he shifted to his right and curled an attempt – let’s be kind and say it wasn’t a cross - towards the far corner. Schwolow did well to get a hand to it as Rangers earned a corner. They did nothing with it.

Schwolow saved from Djeidi Gassama in first half injury time. It had been uninspiring, boring and entirely predictable. The start to the second half was just as bad, with a James Tavernier effort that was wide of target all that was mustered in the opening ten minutes.

Tavernier injected some impetus into proceedings with a burst forward before finding Gassama. A terrific effort from the left came back off the far post and didn’t quite fall for Oliver Antman. Minutes beforehand, the Finn had forced Schwolow into a smart stop after driving into the area.

Derek Cornelius scrambled the ball into the net from a corner before Steven McLean blew for an infringement. A VAR check confirmed the decision. The recovery mission was over before it even started.

The Jambos are joyous

Hearts arrived at Ibrox with the weight of history – and a barren 11 year long wait – around their necks. But they knew they had a chance to end that run here. That belief was evident in the way they started and there was a purpose about the visitors.

Craig Halkett headed over after four minutes and Shankland saw a low effort saved by Jack Butland. His next effort found the net. Claudio Braga got in behind the defence and played a reverse ball to find his captain. The finish from Shankland – low and across Butland – nestled in the far corner. Hearts had the lead that their play merited.

A second goal would have ended this game as a contest and really turned Ibrox against Rangers. Hearts couldn’t find it, though. The visitors were still comfortable in possession and under little threat themselves, but they couldn’t capitalise on the fragility of Martin’s side.

Hearts survived a spell of pressure early in the second half. Every minute that elapsed saw McInnes edge closer to the whistle to give the away end a victory to celebrate.

These teams were in the Championship on that occasion. Today, Hearts sit top of the Premiership. The second goal from Shankland clinched the points as he scored on the rebound after Butland saved his penalty eight minutes from time.

Calls from the coach didn’t work

Martin has made referenced to the Old Firm fixture being more like it in terms of the application and aggression from his side. Those qualities had to be the starting point here. They were missing once again.

The same line-up was selected as the challenge was put to pick up where they left off and find more improvement. This was miles off what was needed but as bad as many expected.

The man who has dominated the discussion since the derby was nowhere to be seen, of course. His name was still heard as the Union Bears burst into a chorus of the Nico Raskin chant nine minutes in. Martin confirmed on Friday morning that Raskin would not be part of the squad at Ibrox.

The Rangers Review reported on Friday evening that the Belgian would not be leaving amid interest from Turkey and Raskin again watched on as Connor Barron, Thelo Aasgaard and Mohamed Diomande were selected as the midfield three. The theory was that Aasgaard would operate closer to Bojan Miovski but the striker was isolated again as Rangers had no link from middle to front.

The half-time throws of the dice were Cornelius and Antman. Nasser Djiga made way for Cornelius to make his debut, while Antman replaced Moore after an ineffective 45 minutes. The introduction of Joe Rothwell wasn’t greeted with widespread approval.

Chermiti made his debut with 25 minutes remaining as he joined Miovski in attack. Rothwell made way after sustaining an injury and Nedim Bajrami took his place. A penny for Raskin’s thoughts no doubt.

Crowd turns against Rangers. Again.

Martin insisted after the Old Firm game that he did not hear the chants in support of Raskin. He must have heard them on this occasion. The first came inside the opening minutes and the decibel levels were raised in the aftermath of the goal from Shankland. They came just seconds after ‘Martin, Martin get to f***’ was started in the Union Bears section.

Three minutes before the break, more boos reverberated around Ibrox as Rangers knocked the ball about inside their own half. More chants against the head coach followed. The reaction at the whistle came as no surprise and Martin was a target when he emerged from the tunnel to take his spot for the second period.

A break in play midway through the half while Rothwell was being treated saw some fans in the Copland take aim at Martin again. The mood had been slightly more encouraging in spells thanks to an improvement from Rangers but Ibrox was not exactly united in the push.

The away end started a chorus of 'sacked in the morning'. Sections of the home end joined in. That told its own story.