Bedspreads & Raskin - how Martin & Rangers found relief

It was a day that started with protests against Russell Martin and ended in progression.

On Saturday, the Rangers head coach's name was scrawled across bed sheets and hoisted aloft in the street. "Russell out - worst manager in history," was the claim.

His face, and also that of chief executive Patrick Stewart, was plastered across posters as fans took a stand outside Ibrox, while inside balls were hurled on to the pitch and messages unraveled in a deliberate delay to draw attention to his position.

The fact a relatively perfunctory 2-0 Premier Sports Cup quarter-final victory over Hibernian was recorded will therefore have come as some sort of relief to Martin.

Yet, with a backdrop of more than 15,000 empty seats and protests, including one banner unfurled when they were winning, this glimmer of respite perhaps simply fails to add pressure rather than relieve too much of it.

Martin has been defiant in the face of the most fierce criticism.

American chairman Andrew Cavanagh, who had tea with his head coach on Friday, was in attendance on Saturday as many Rangers supporters chose to stay away. Of those who did turn up, a not insignificant number started their evening at the front door to make their feelings clear.

It has been ferociously intense for Martin, who took his team open water swimming in Loch Lomond on Monday, since taking over. The white heat of the Old Firm spotlight can make you wilt, yet his cool has not slipped.

Already he has had a player reportedly refuse to play in a game, a humiliation in Europe, the worst domestic league start since 1978 and an ongoing saga with one of his best players. More on him later.

So, as Martin Boyle's shot in the first half on Saturday squeaked by a sprawling Jack Butland to give Hibs an early lead, the fragility of the atmosphere whistling around Ibrox was brutally exposed.

Martin's sliding doors moment arrived soon, though, with a slither of a handball from Boyle bringing parity again. Twenty-eight minutes later, Rangers walked off the park with the cushion of a two-goal lead that never looked like being relinquished.

Martin is in "damned if you do and damned if you don't" territory.

Of the many narratives that have had the Rangers boss as the main protagonist since he walked in the front door at Ibrox in the summer, a key plot twist has been the perceived issue around Nico Raskin.

The Belgium midfielder was dropped before the international break and, after scoring for his country, was still absent for the 2-0 defeat by Heart of Midlothian last week. Arguably Rangers' best player last season, in times of crisis, fans were left sitting in the stand with him.

On Saturday, he returned and shone. The 24-year-old glanced in the opener while also tormenting a Hibs defence as he wriggled free time and time again. It is the sort of savvy play a rudderless Rangers have been yearning for in a winless domestic start.

"I think I gave him a role today that really suits him and freed him up a little bit and I think he was fantastic," Martin, who was then asked if he regretted not playing him against Celtic and Hearts, said.

"You have to make a decision as a coach that you think is best for the team at the time.

"Circumstances and situations very often happen within clubs that can't come out.

"It might be a necessary part of Nico's growth, or our growth as a team, and today was part of a team that was so together, so committed and so brave to take the ball and I thought he was outstanding."

It is perhaps in the familiarity of the Rangers match statistics that you see his impact.

Against Hearts, there were the same number of shots, one fewer on target on Saturday, the same amount off target.

However, Raskin's influence allowed Rangers' play to flow, he created space, caused panic and was a constant threat until his removal on 87 minutes.

A handshake and embrace with his manager on the touchline followed an ovation from those still inside Ibrox.

"We have to look forward and build on that," Raskin told Premier Sports. "Everything hasn't been perfect. I didn't enjoy parts of it, the manager didn't enjoy parts of it.

"Now we have had a good chat and hopefully we can work together and have a good spell together.

"It's not about me or the manager. It's about the club and how we move forwards, how we win games. The season is still very long, we have loads to play for."

Raskin is right.

Somehow, amid all the fury, uproar, inflatable sharks and graffiti-scrawled bed spreads, this misfiring Rangers group are potentially two games away from silverware.

After a humiliating Champions League play-off exit at the ruthless hands of Club Brugge, the familiarity of the Europa League beckons. It is a safe haven for those in Govan and one that in time will surely be seen as a blessing, if that euro cent has not already dropped.

Play-off pain can still be salved in a competition that has lit up domestically troubled Rangers teams of recent past.

That hints at the main point of concern, the already hefty deficit in terms of title race points. Martin hauled his Rangers team up Connick Hill midweek, but it is a mere molehill compared to the Premiership mountain facing them after just five games.

Right now, they sit 11th with no wins, glancing up at the summit in the distance, with Celtic and Hearts perched nine points ahead.

Up to this point, the deficiencies of Brendan Rodgers' side will have been the biggest source of comfort to Rangers fans as they scramble about at rock bottom, rather than early flickers of life from their own team.

History tells us Rodgers will eventually get a proper tune out of his serial winners, a trophy winning machine that has badly lost its way in recent weeks. The ascent of Martin's side needs to start now or face their title rivals disappearing out of sight.

However, against a Hibs team that has received plenty of praise both domestically and in Europe already this season, the home side never looked in danger after taking the lead. It was a rare moment of comfort for Martin.

So protests made way for progression for the Rangers head coach. For the support, more days like these will need to follow if they are going to acknowledge progress.