Billy Dodds' mind blown by Rangers issue he's never seen before as he takes Russell Martin claim to task

Billy Dodds' mind blown by Rangers issue he's never seen before as he takes Russell Martin claim to task

The former Ibrox striker and coach was in the stands on Tuesday night as Gers crashed to a 3-1 defeat to Club Brugge

Rangers boss Russell Martin (Image: SNS Group)

Billy Dodds admits he's been taken aback by how quickly the Rangers support appears to have turned on Russell Martin.

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Ibrox turned toxic on Tuesday night as Club Brugge stormed to an early three-goal lead to all but crush Gers' hopes of reaching the Champions League proper.

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Martin's men were booed throughout the game and thousands of disgusted punters even flooded for the exits before half-time.

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The Light Blues did produce a spirited performance after the interval, but the stadium was almost empty by the time the final whistle blew.

Former striker Dodds - who was part of Barry Ferguson's interim coaching staff last season - was stunned at the furious reaction from the stands.

He told Go Radio: "I've never seen en masse so many supporters turn on him, or not happy with the situation and show him that they aren't happy with where Rangers are.

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"I've never seen this early in the season, the crowd get to Russell Martin or the players at times, the way they are doing."

Dodds claims Martin did himself no favours by pointing out that "there has been fragility in this club for a long, long time."

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He added: "I think Rangers fans are desperate to cling onto something, and then as a collective they are desperate for the team to do well and they're frustrated.

"I get that Russell is coming out after the game and is trying to be positive, but the one thing about it is he's saying it's been vulnerable and fragile before.

"But the one thing he's got to be careful with, he's made ten signings. Rangers fans want to see progression in between that. He's talking about the fragility?

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"When he was saying it, I was thinking three out of the back four were his signings and loan signings on top of that.

"The Rangers fans want to see the fragility slowly but surely go and they're not. They saw it last night worse than it's ever been.

"When there's going to be pain as Russell Martin said, they want to see progression within that pain and I don't think they are seeing that so far."

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