‘Make his eyeballs sweat’. The Ibrox faithful will probably demand Russell Martin’s sacking if they lose to Panathinaikos on Tuesday night. Celtic will be the least of his worries…

If there is one thing that is patently clear today, nobody in the Scottish Mainstream Sports Media wants Russell Martin to succeed at Ibrox

Since his appointment at the club, the negativity from the media has been incessant.

Personally, I don’t want any manager to succeed over there, but I can’t help but look on in awe at the way the media and the fanbase of that club are setting him up to fail.

Tuesday night’s Champions League qualifier is already being considered a make or break game for him.

Which on the face of it, is insane.

He has been plunged into a situation which is not of his making, and then expected to shoulder the brunt of the abuse that will come his way if he doesn’t succeed.

The man really is on a hiding to nothing over there, if you ask me.

Martin inherited a bunch of serial losers who are draining the lifeblood out of the club which their ridiculous pay packets.

To date, they still have not made any money on the dross they have.

They’ve effectively handicapped Martin with the unrealistic prices they’ve placed on players like Hamza Igamane and Cyriel Dessers.

They think that they can mirror Celtic’s player trading model at Ibrox by naming any price they want for players other clubs are showing interest in.

It doesn’t work that way.

The players Celtic can demand large sums of money for have proven themselves at the highest level.

The Champions League.

Even though we only had Nicolas Kuhn for a year and a half, his performances in the Champions League are what attracted the attention of other clubs.

Kyogo Furuhashi also had some decent performances in the Champions League.

Hence the reason we got £10 million for him at 30 years of age.

What happened after that is not our concern, Rennes paid what they paid for him based on his record at our club.

At Ibrox, the simple fact is that Russell Martin is entering into a Champions League qualifier with a bunch of serial losers, topped up with EFL level additions.

To actually expect him to beat a side of the calibre of Panathinaikos is entirely unrealistic.

If he does, then it will show he’s a decent manager.

If he doesn’t, well there’s certainly no shame in it.

But if, as Keith Jackson said in his usual Monday morning piece, he finds himself 2-0 down at half-time on Tuesday evening and the temperature in the stands makes his eyeballs start to sweat, then that is utterly insane.

Then again, what is actually sane about that club anyway?

I have no doubt if they lose that tie, then the Ibrox fanbase will already be demanding he’s sacked.

That is just how insane they ACTUALLY are over there.

Jackson says that’s because they never wanted him there in the first place.

But let me put this to Keith Jackson, name me a manager who has been successful at Ibrox prior to Russell Martin’s appointment?

Steven Gerrard won one trophy in nine attempts, and that one trophy was secured in the middle of a global pandemic, combined with a total implosion at Celtic Park.

To label him a success is an insult to Giovanni van Bronckhorst, who took the club to a European final, and won a Scottish Cup during his short tenure at the club.

He did a hell of a lot more than Gerrard in a very short space of time, and was ultimately shafted by the club.

Gerrard only gets the recognition he does because he stopped Celtic from winning 10IAR.

The fact that he did it in shite circumstances, with a team doped to it’s eyeballs on caffeine is irrelevant to the Ibrox support.

Which is a perfect example of why they’ll never look at the broader picture.

They will always demand instant success.

But they gave Steven Gerrard a free pass because of his name.

They gave him time because of his name.

It had bugger all to do with his managerial ability, or inability, which has been very much exposed since his Ibrox departure.

Russell Martin doesn’t have a name like Steven Gerrard.

Hence the reason the daggers are out for him already.

And hovering over his head in anticipation of what happens on Tuesday night.

People like Keith Jackson are fuelling their intolerance of him with articles like the one he’s written this morning.

Basically writing him off before he’s really even shown what he’s capable of.

And expecting him to showcase the entirety of his managerial capabilities on Tuesday night by defeating Panathinaikos.

Ironically enough, I had a sane Ibrox supporter tell me he doesn’t expect them to win that tie, in a comment in one of my recent articles.

But that’s the thing, you see?

I think nobody expects him to win because they have zero faith in him as a manager.

And they just want to use a defeat to Panathinaikos as the catalyst to driving him out of the club because they don’t want to him there.

One thing is for certain anyway, is that Keith Jackson doesn’t want him there.

And while he let’s on he’s in his corner, calling for time and patience for Martin, its clear what his agenda really is.

Because if he really supported Russell Martin’s appointment?

Well, then he’d be telling the Ibrox fanbase to give him a chance.

He’d do that without the inclusion of all the negative shite he has continually written about his appointment since it happened.

The reality is that Ibrox managers, with the exception of Gerrard, are never given a chance.

Because a club that has won virtually nothing since it crawled from the grave of the old club, has a fanbase that expects instant success.

That expectation has killed the career of every manager who sat in the manager’s seat before Russell Martin did.

With the exception, once again, of Gerrard.

Who single handedly killed his managerial career himself.

Listen, all of this is manna from heaven for me as a Celtic fan.

It tells me that despite a new regime being in place over there, nothing is going to change.

How the Americans handle that is the fun part in all of this.

The fact that the Ibrox club is likely to descend into chaos if they’re knocked out of the Champions League over this two legged tie is as hilarious as it is tragic.

Hilarious from our point of view.

Tragic from theirs.

Hey, you never know, Martin might shock everyone on Tuesday night.

I’m just not sure how a raft of new signings will handle it if they find themselves booed off the pitch at half-time if they’re trailing the Greeks?

That’s what they’re up against.

This is what they signed up for.

Hell, this is what Russell Martin signed up for, and he knows it.

On that basis, he must be prepared to fall on his own sword if it all goes pear shaped early on?

Well, either that, or he’s supremely confident in his own managerial abilities.

One way or another, we’re going to find out pretty soon.

As we Celtic fans always do, we’ll just enjoy watching the car crash unfold.

I’d have a degree of sympathy for Martin if I was a neutral

But I’m not.

So instead, I’ll just continue to enjoy the banter years.

Which seem to have no end in sight, despite the Americans taking over.

In fact, I just see them getting funnier and funnier.

‘Make his eyeballs sweat.’

Yeah, I wouldn’t be surprised if Martin was crying after Tuesday night’s game.

With laughter at the hysterical reaction a defeat might bring about.

Welcome to the madhouse Russell Martin.

Celtic will be the least of your worries.

You bought it, you own it.