Russell Martin had a mountain to climb before he even took charge of his first game as Rangers manager. First of all, he isn't Steven Gerrard, and secondly, he doesn't wear brown shoes.
The challenge of beating Glasgow rivals Celtic, who have won 13 of the past 14 Scottish titles to move within one of equaling Rangers' record of 55 championships, should be demanding enough for Martin, but in one of the most passionate and hostile rivalries in world football, the slightest misstep can lead to the most unnecessary problems.
The results that the former Southampton manager has achieved -- or, more bluntly, has failed to achieve -- since taking on arguably the toughest job in football in June are what will ultimately make or break him at Ibrox, but it is a sign of the unforgiving nature of the role he now occupies that his honeymoon period was curtailed by who he isn't and his footwear choices.
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Martin had been in the job for only a matter of minutes before his decision not to attend his introductory news conference wearing the brown brogues traditionally worn by Rangers managers prompted criticism from supporters, who had wanted former boss Gerrard to return to the club, and even led to columnists discussing his dress sense in leading Scottish newspapers. Had results been better -- Rangers go into Sunday's Old Firm game against Celtic on Sunday without a league win after making their worst start to a season in 36 years -- Martin's attire would likely have been nothing more than a mild irritant to a small group of fans, but it is now compounding his problems as he fights to save his job.
"It was noted about his [Martin] shoes," David Edgar of the "Heart & Hand" Rangers podcast told ESPN. "Personally, I will say it wasn't his fault because the unveiling happened a bit quicker than expected and he didn't have his formal shoes with him. But he then said he wasn't going to wear a shirt and tie on matchdays, and it is a tradition that Rangers managers wear a shirt and tie and blazer. The players have to do it, but he doesn't do it.
"You can debate whether it really matters, and fans do have this debate, but to the majority, yes, it does matter. And when you're not getting results, all the little things start to matter."
Martin's shoes -- he prefers the modern-day manager trend of white-soled trainers -- should be the least of his worries, however, after a dismal start to his job has left him in danger of losing it in days rather than weeks. After three straight draws to open their league campaign and a chastening UEFA Champions League exit to Club Brugge in the final qualifying round -- Rangers lost 6-0 in the second leg, 9-1 on aggregate -- a home defeat against Celtic this Sunday could prove the final straw.
Martin, 39, made 29 appearances for Scotland and had a brief spell at Rangers as a player in 2018. He has been in charge for less than three months, but has already publicly criticized his players and accused them of having a "mentality problem."
After a 1-1 draw away to Motherwell on the opening day of the Scottish Premiership season, Martin delivered this brutal assessment of his team. "Too much ego, too much self-preservation," he said. "When you want to just jog around, there's a big problem. Some of them have to drop their ego."
Martin was similarly blunt after Sunday's 1-1 draw at St Mirren when he claimed that substitute Hamza Igamane refused to play when asked in the second half, with the forward citing an injury. (Reports indicate the club has since signed off on Igamane's move to Lille.) "He wouldn't be on the bench if he's not fit," Martin said. "He said he'd done it warming up. As a human being, I have to trust that he has done it in the warmup, like he said. We'll see."
Managing Rangers is a demanding job. Success is the minimum requirement, which is hard enough, but when success is elusive and Celtic are dominating, being the man in the suit (and brown shoes) at Ibrox can feel like mission impossible.
Gerrard was the last Rangers manager to win the Scottish title, in 2021, but since the former Liverpool and England captain left for Aston Villa later the same year, six managers have taken charge of Rangers and only two -- Giovanni van Bronckhorst (1 year, 3 days) and Philippe Clement (1 year, 31 days) -- have survived in post beyond 12 months. During that same period, Celtic have had just two managers (Ange Postecoglou, Brendan Rodgers) and have won nine domestic honors, including four league titles.
Rangers did reach the Europa League final in 2022, losing on penalties to Eintracht Frankfurt, and progressed to last season's quarterfinals, but European success barely registers with the fan base. It's domestic dominance they've been missing.
"We've been very good in Europe," Edgar said. "But the fans don't care really. It doesn't buy you any time because we're not winning at home. It's not even a debate -- it's all about winning the Scottish title."
Wednesday's exit from the Champions League at the hands of Club Brugge has denied Rangers the financial boost of playing in the lucrative league stage -- Celtic also crashed out at the playoff stage in a penalty shootout defeat against Kairat Almaty in Kazakhstan -- but the club at least has the compensation of a place in the Europa League. Although European football does not matter greatly to the fans, it is crucial for Rangers' bank balance.
Like Celtic, Rangers are a club with a huge global fan base. In UEFA's European Club Finance and Investment Landscape Report, published in March, Rangers were 19th in the table of clubs with most match revenue in Europe during 2024, one place ahead of Borussia Dortmund, with overall gate receipts of £45.6 million.
But the Scottish Premiership broadcast deal is worth a mere £30 million a year for the entire top division of 12 clubs, and Rangers banked just £3.23m from finishing second last year -- a stark contrast to Arsenal, which received £171.5m as Premier League runners-up. Rangers received £9.6m from the UEFA prize fund for reaching the Europa League quarterfinals; Celtic, meanwhile, earned £22.6m by reaching the Champions League play-off stage.
The challenge facing Rangers is exacerbated by the financial power of Celtic, rooted in their regular participation in the Champions League. This week's defeat in Kazakhstan means Celtic will miss out on the Champions League group stage for the first time in four years.
In the most recent accounts published by Rangers and Celtic, the financial gulf is clear. Rangers trail Celtic in revenue (£88.3m to £124.6m), cash reserves (£1.7m to £77m) and profit (£17m loss to Celtic's £13.3m profit). The only figure where both clubs are comparable is wages, with Rangers' wage bill standing at £61.1m against Celtic's £65.6m.
A summer takeover at Ibrox by an American consortium, led by 49ers Enterprises and New York-based healthcare tycoon Andrew Cavenagh, has put Rangers on a stable footing after more than a decade of financial turbulence, but former Rangers forward Kris Boyd believes the new investment and leadership at the club only adds to the pressure on Martin to deliver.
"I can see why people call Rangers the toughest job in football," Boyd told ESPN. "Glasgow is not easy at the best of times, but with new owners comes an expectation of instant change and instant success, and the manager gets the brunt of the criticism if it doesn't work out as quickly as the supporters demand.
"I know what Rangers is like. You can win 10 successive games and then lose the 11th -- nobody will even mention the 10 wins. You just have to win. Whether Rangers are playing Real Madrid or Ross County, the fans expect you to win, and that's the pressure that comes with playing for or managing the club."
Martin is under intense pressure right now after his unimpressive start to the job. Gerrard, out of work since being fired by Saudi Pro League club Al Ettifaq in January, has emerged as the bookmakers' favorite to replace Martin, and the shadow of the 45-year-old is unlikely to disappear unless Martin quickly delivers results -- starting against Celtic on Sunday.
"For many Rangers fans, Russell Martin is the guy who was sacked by Southampton last season after refusing to accept his style of play wasn't working," Edgar said. "He arrived at Rangers without any kind of goodwill or ballast from previous achievements.
"Steven Gerrard upset plenty of fans when he left for Aston Villa, but because of his persona and previous success at Rangers, the supporters would have fallen back in love with him as soon as he walked through the door had he returned in the summer.
"Martin doesn't have any of that. Fans don't want his style of play, whether it is winning or losing, and I haven't seen a move quite so quickly before where fans have just given up on a manager.
"History tells us that the managers at Rangers who are putting sides who are performing like this don't last, and after what happened in Brugge, when the score could have been double figures by the end, there's good reason to say Martin should be gone already.
"If Rangers go behind against Celtic on Sunday, he will never have experienced anything like it. The atmosphere will be feral."
For Boyd, however, Martin needs time, even though he accepts he might not get it. "It's at boiling point right now at Rangers, there's no doubt about that," Boyd said. "But if the new owners change the manager so quickly, it doesn't reflect well on them because it would suggest they got it wrong in the first place.
"So if Rangers lose against Celtic on Sunday, I don't expect Russell Martin to lose his job unless the defeat is so bad that it becomes inevitable. But when a manager loses a fan base, it becomes very difficult for him to turn the tide and win them back, and that's the situation Martin is facing."
If Rangers lose again, even a pair of brown shoes might not be enough to save Russell Martin.