Rangers’ nightmare start to the league continued as Hearts claimed a deserved 2-0 victory at Ibrox, leaving Russell Martin the first Ibrox manager in 47 years to fail to win any of his first five league matches.
The defeat leaves Rangers struggling for form and facing a chorus of boos from a rightfully frustrated home support.
Lawrence Shankland’s 21st-minute strike gave Hearts the lead, and despite some late pressure from the home side, his second in the last ten minutes sealed another humiliating afternoon. It was Hearts’ first win at Ibrox since August 2014, and their first victory in 19 meetings overall.
Martin had stuck with the lineup that had battled to a goalless draw against Celtic last week, but Hearts, renowned for winning duels across the pitch, quickly pinned Rangers back.
Shankland tested Jack Butland before Rangers even got a sniff of attacking rhythm. Claudio Braga’s clever flick set up the opening goal, exploiting a hesitant Rangers defence, and from there, the hosts struggled to respond.
Martin can complain about a handball in the buildup and rightly so, but the ease at which Shankland drifted into the box and finished past Butland unopposed was amateurish.
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Rangers’ first-half efforts were limited to a curling Thelo Aasgaard strike that hit the crossbar and a weak header from Bojan Miovski.
After the break, new boys Derek Cornelius and Youssef Chermiti gave fans a glimmer of hope when they came on, but even a disallowed goal and a late penalty save could not spark a comeback.
Shankland converted the rebound after Butland saved his spot-kick, surely sealing Martin’s fate.
The performance exposed the team’s defensive frailties, poor cohesion, and lack of clear leadership on the pitch. Despite promising words from Martin about a “reset” after the Celtic draw, the first 45 minutes were full of nerves and disjointed play, with Rangers looking more like individuals than a team.
Questions remain about Nicolas Raskin’s continued absence and the timing of key substitutions, which came too late to influence the game.
Rangers now turn their attention to a Premier Sports Cup quarter-final at home to Hibernian next week. As of now it looks like Martin will limp on, but the attendance will be a stark reminder to the Ibrox hierarchy of just how angry, and disillusioned the support are with the man in the dugout, and those above him.