What Martin can’t question is the desire of those he turned to. A weaker-willed squad could have folded under the pressure of Livingston’s comeback.
When the result is far more important than the performance, it would be churlish to nit-pick too much. That Rangers have four draws and a defeat to show for their other Premiership outings this term is what still rankles with the rank and file.
Their abusive chants towards their own manager will only fade if a significant run of victories ensues both at home and abroad.
Two tough-looking assignments in Graz and Falkirk in the next few days will have to be negotiated before there’s even the beginning of a buy-in from some fans.
Some time has been bought by this win, though. Ask Neil McCann, who occupied the Ibrox dugout last season as Barry Ferguson’s assistant.
“It’s so important for Russell Martin,” he said on Sky Sports. “You could see the relief on his face. Today was just about winning. Take three points and get off the pitch.”
The head coach did both of those, telling BBC Scotland he ducked quickly down the tunnel at full-time to allow his team to celebrate with the fans without the mood being soured by further chanting towards him.
“I’m so happy for the players – they really stuck at it,” he added. “The fans saw a team that’s really fighting for each other and for the coaching staff.
“I’ve nothing to say about [the fans chanting at him] because I can’t control any of it. It’s why I walked down the tunnel so quickly. It’s aimed it me but it’s not about me today, it’s about the players.”
So this late win against Livingston follows a good performance against Hibernian the week before to claim a League Cup semi-final spot. In between, there was a narrow defeat by Genk in which Rangers played 50 minutes with 10 men.
Whisper it but there are some blue shoots of recovery. They may be killed off by the icy blast of further mediocrity should Rangers be undone again at home or abroad.
Granted, the bar is set nowhere near high enough for fans but, for now, it seems there are signs of improvement for Martin. Whether the supporters like it or not.
