BOUNCY HUNTER

Nico returns to bring some cheer and take heat of Martin

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RIGHT in the Nico time ... Just when teetering Russell Martin was hunting a saviour to pull him back from the brink, who else would step up but the very man he had just brought back from the naughty step?

Nico Raskin's 42nd-minute opener relieved building tension in a protest-packed Ibrox.

And it laid the groundwork for a victory that buys a bit of time for the under-fire boss.

Bojan Miovski opened his account to make it 2-0 and a comfortable win in the end.

But it was Raskin who stole the show with a breathless engine-room display, topped off by a goal that might prove to be the biggest of Martin's reign - no matter how long it lasts.

The pre-match protest against the boss on Edmiston Drive might have lacked intensity - a bit like the performances that had sparked the demo against the under-fire manger and chief executive Patrick Stewart.

But the thousands of empty seats inside Ibrox spoke volumes. A rubber-ball protest by the Union Bears after 12 minutes added to the toxicity.

Owner Andrew Cavenagh was in attendance to face the growing crisis head on.

What he thought of the vitriol is anyone’s guess but Martin will need more 90 minutes like this if he's to have any hope of bouncing back. It didn’t appear to start well as Hibs were denied an opener by VAR in 19 minutes.