TRUE GLUE

My old club is crying out for a manager who connects with the support and, like them, truly understands what Rangers is all about. That's why I'm backing bid to bring Stevie G back up the road

- BARRY FERGUSON

RANGERS fans won't want to hear this. And I'm fully aware of that.

But, as a human being, I really felt for Russell Martin towards the end and particularly on Sunday when he had to slip out of Falkirk's stadium through a side door, probably knowing that his time in charge of the club was up after just 122 days. It was a sad sight and a difficult watch.

I never wanted it to end like that for him. First and foremost I'm a Rangers supporter so I want every manager in there to be a success. If the club is forced into a position of having to pull the trigger then it's because the team is under-performing and results are suffering.

And no Rangers supporter ever wants to see that.

But the truth is, for whatever reason, Russell struggled to make any real connection with the fans from day one which meant he was up against it from the start.

I'm not going to criticise the guy for that. Every manager has his own style and his own way of communicating and Russell will have time now to reflect on how he handled himself, what he might have done differently and why it ended the way it did.

I genuinely wish him well for the future and I hope he's given time and space to get over the disappointment and move on.

But what I will say is this.

Right now, at this particular moment in time, my old club is crying out for a manager who connects with the support and, like them, truly understands what Rangers is all about.

And that's why I'm fully behind the decision to sit down with Steven Gerrard in London and to work out if a deal can be done to bring him back up the road for a second stint.

Because if they can find a way to make it work then they will instantly unify the support and bring the club back together.

And that's exactly what Rangers need after these last few months of division and disruption.