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Cyriel Dessers’ potential late winner was disallowed due to an offside ruling.
Watch Rangers v Dundee highlights
09/08/2025
With new ownership, a fresh managerial face, and a near-complete overhaul of the playing squad, the individual tasked with revitalizing Rangers’ on-field performance insists that there is “no quick fix” as familiar issues resurface at the start of the new season.
Russell Martin’s revamped team remains undefeated in five matches under the former Southampton manager.
However, two of those games have resulted in draws in their opening Scottish Premiership fixtures – a situation the former Rangers defender acknowledges is insufficient for a side with title aspirations against reigning champions Celtic.
Despite receiving accolades for their 3-0 victory over Viktoria Plzen in Champions League qualifying on Tuesday, the same Rangers players were met with boos after narrowly avoiding defeat against a Dundee side widely expected to be outmatched.
This recurring narrative from previous managerial tenures, which Martin suggests will “just take some time” to address, raises questions about the current state of Rangers and their new team boss.
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After finishing 15 points behind their city rivals last season, Rangers already trail Celtic by one point, with Brendan Rodgers’ side yet to play their game in hand against Aberdeen on Sunday.
Should Rangers progress through their European tie after Tuesday’s second leg against Plzen, their league match against St Mirren on August 24 will be postponed to allow preparation for the play-off tie, potentially leaving them seven points behind by the time Celtic visits Ibrox the following week.
Their situation could have been even more precarious. Arguably fortunate to secure a point against Motherwell last weekend, Rangers were forced to play the final half-hour against Dundee with 10 men before captain James Tavernier salvaged another point with a late penalty.
A “disappointed” Martin conceded, “There was just general lethargy and no speed in the first half.”
Following last week’s draw at Fir Park, Martin had expressed concerns about the mentality of some of his players, suggesting that some “have to drop their ego,” and was pleased with their response against Plzen.
This time, he was “pleased with the response of the team when we went down to 10 men and we could’ve won the game in the end, but the mentality has to come from the very first kick of the match”.
Martin accepted some responsibility, admitting, “In hindsight, I should’ve made some changes to inject that energy in the team, but I explained my decision before the game and maybe I could’ve changed that now the game is finished.
“We’re learning about the group all the time, so that’s a lesson learnt today.”
BBC pundit and former Rangers striker Steven Thompson described them as exhibiting a “Jekyll and Hyde” persona, noting that similar inconsistencies occurred under the previous two managers – Philippe Clement and Barry Ferguson – last season.
“They would have a brilliant European performance and then fall flat,” he told BBC Scotland’s Sportscene. “It is something Russell Martin needs to get rid of quickly.”
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Saturday’s draw was particularly frustrating for Rangers fans, considering Dundee’s poor start to the season, which has intensified pressure on their new manager, former Rangers defender Steven Pressley.
Dundee, who managed just two attempts on goal in their opening Premiership defeat at home to Hibernian, had not defeated Rangers in their previous 17 encounters and had lost their last 19 visits to Ibrox.
The passing style being adopted under Martin meant centre-half John Souttar attempted 131 passes in this game, the highest of any player in the opening two weekends, the team overall attempted 709, again the highest of any team, and their 20 goal attempts were highest too.
Yet they still relied on a penalty to rescue a draw and have now failed to win both of their opening two league matches for the first time since 1989.
Martin could understand the reaction of the home support.
“The fans have lacked the success they want for quite some time, so I understand the frustration,” he said. “I didn’t get too high on Tuesday, so we’re not going to get too low today.
“We are at a point now at this club where something needed to change.
“The ownership has changed, there’s a new coaching staff, there’s new players, there’s hopefully a new way of behaving in the training ground – properly, every single day, regarding standards and what’s expected at this football club. So it’s not a quick fix and this is not me coming out and making excuses.
“I think we change the manager from year to year and nothing really changes.
“So now it’s about really changing the culture and the feel of the club day in and day out. That will end up in a good outcome. Good process, good people, will always end up in a good outcome. But maybe not so quickly as everyone wants.”
Former Rangers striker and assistant boss Billy Dodds told BBC Radio Scotland’s Sportsound: “Russell Martin wants the players to put their egos to bed and concentrate on the football.
“But I think they need more egos at the club because egos come with top players.
“It took a man being sent off to get them going, but they deserved that draw in the end because they kept going at it.”
Like last season, Rangers found it difficult to break down a team domestically who sat back to defend their penalty box at Ibrox – and Thompson gave credit to Pressley.
“He has had a lot of stick in the early part of the season, but he got his tactics spot on,” he said.
Right-back Tavernier and midfielder Nicolas Raskin were two of four players dropped in midweek and were again on the bench against Dundee.
However, Tavernier came on to prove his goalscoring worth once more, while Martin admitted that “Raskin was great when he game on. He tackled more than the whole team”.
Meanwhile, centre-half Nasser Djiga is now in line to miss the Old Firm derby through suspension after his last-man red card against Dundee.
It leaves Martin with questions over his personnel as matches come thick and fast.
Former Rangers forward Gordon Smith pointed out that Rangers were better when down to 10 men and were unfortunate that Cyriel Dessers was denied a late winner for offside.
However, he was left pondering: “How can they put that kind of performance in Europe and not in the league?”
It is a conundrum that Martin is not the first Rangers team boss to have faced.
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