Too scared to play at Ibrox?

Vignal says Martin's fear verdict is SCARY

- BY SCOTT McDERMOTT

IT'S a notion Gregory Vignal is still trying to get his head around.

‘A Rangers player too scared to play at Ibrox.

That was the damning verdict by under-pressure gaffer Russell Martin on Saturday after his team’s disastrous 2-0 defeat to Hearts.

And even 2000 miles away in Riga, it shocked Vignal to the core when he heard it.

The former Ibrox star - part of their Helicopter Sunday title-winning side in 2005 - is now first-team coach at RFS in Latvia. But Glasgow is his home and Rangers is his passion.

That's why Martin's words at his post-match press conference hit hard. The Frenchman felt uncomfortable hearing it.

Vignal immediately tried to imagine his old gaffer Alex McLeish in that situation.

Fear wasn't in Big Eck’s vocabulary. And he certainly wouldn't have signed anyone at Ibrox if he thought they didn't have the mental fortitude to cope with the demands.

Vignal, who won a double at Rangers, can't believe the predicament Martin's side currently find themselves in.

Sitting 10th in the Scottish Premiership without a win after five games is a scenario he never thought hed see.

But that's the reality. And Vignal says they must lose the worry and anxiety about playing at Ibrox ~ and show some balls to get to the job done.

He told Record Sport: “I heard the manager say on Saturday the players are scared to play at Ibrox. So why are they signing those types of players?