BATTERED & BRUGGED

Collapse in Belgium leaves Martin on the brink as his ragged Rangers side put up no fight in Euro rout

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IT'S difficult to see how Russell Martin comes back from this.

Just 84 days into his tenure as Rangers manager, supporters unequivocally decided last night that his time at Ibrox is already up.

He was left stunned as Brugge ran riot. This was a Champions League embarrassment, losing 6-0 on the night and 9-1 on aggregate.

And after the Belgians went five goals up by HALFTIME, travelling fans loudly told their manager exactly where to go.

Gers had Max Aarons sent off early on which didn't help their cause. But after that, the capitulation from Martin's players left punters angry and humiliated.

Martin now has no room for error against Celtic on Sunday in the first Old Firm derby of the season.

Because the display in Brugge was an unmitigated disaster from the off. After Nicolo Tresoldi's opener and Aarons' red card, the Light Blues' Champions League dream was killed stone dead. Skipper Hans Vanaken grabbed a second before Joaquin Seys' brace made it 4-0 and then Aleksandar Stankovic scored a fifth.

The Belgians also hit the bar twice, while Jack Butland was forced into a string of saves. And this was all in the first 45 minutes.

Greek ace Christos Tzolis netted Brugge's sixth just after the break before Gers stopped the bleeding.

AMERICAN ANSWERS

A penny for the thoughts of Andrew Cavenagh and Paraag Marathe right now.