Mixing it with Real Madrid, Barcelona, PSG and the rest of Europe's aristocracy has taken second place to the need for a win over St Mirren

MY Radio Clyde colleague Andy Halliday is the Motherwell player who once held up his hand by way of an apology for scoring against Rangers in a cup tie at Hampden.

- HUGH KEEVINS

So when he uses another part of his anatomy and publicly boots Russell Martin's backside over the Ibrox head coach's tactics and the "mythical" nature of his work - you know there's a serious case of diminishing credibility going on.

The coach's credibility. Not the pundit's reputation.

Which is why Russell really needs to think before he speaks as the man under fire from media and supporters alike, approaches the two-week spell that could shape his destiny at Ibrox.

Prior to the Champions League qualifier with Viktoria Plzen in the Czech Republic last Tuesday, Martin surveyed the start to the season up until that point and put an individual slant on it by saying his team had gone five matches in a row without defeat.

He had managed, therefore, to put a positive spin on the loss of four league points, by virtue of draws away to Motherwell and at home to Dundee.

This assessment put Russell in a world of his own due to the fact there wasn't a Rangers fan anywhere who would have used those verbal gymnastics to somersault over the inconvenient truth that those two results were unacceptable in the grand scheme of things.

It was reminiscent of Martin's predecessor Philippe Clement when he took off on his various flights of fantasy -like calling a three-all draw with Celtic at Ibrox a "moral victory".