McInnes Reveals Surprising Sympathy for Controversial Manager Martin—What’s Really Going On?
Derek McInnes stepped up with genuine respect for Rangers’ beleaguered boss Russell Martin, calling him “a fine man, a fine manager” even as his Hearts team snapped an 11-year curse by winning at Ibrox. Imagine the scene: the stands echoing with chants demanding Martin’s dismissal, yet the resilience in Martin’s postgame words was crystal clear—he’s here to stay, despite enduring a start no Rangers manager’s seen since 1978: five league fixtures without a single victory. You can feel the tension, the pressure cooker atmosphere surrounding Martin, but McInnes’s empathy cut through it all. He knows the grind of new beginnings, of building squads and patience wearing thin among fans. Hearts currently lead the pack, with Rangers struggling near the bottom of the Premiership. It’s a story of contrasts, challenges, and the human element within football’s unforgiving world — one where support and scrutiny go hand in hand. LEARN MORE
Derek McInnes described under-pressure Rangers counterpart Russell Martin as “a fine man, a fine manager” as his Hearts side ended an 11-year wait for a win at Ibrox amid chants from the stands for the home head coach to be sacked.
Martin insisted afterwards that he had no intention of quitting despite becoming the first Rangers team boss since 1978 to fail to win any of his first five league matches in charge.
Asked by BBC Scotland whether he had any sympathy for the former Rangers defender, McInnes said: “More than a bit, a huge lot. I didn’t like that today. It’s so unfair on a manager, I don’t like it at all.
“He is a fine man, he’s a fine manager and, when results don’t always come at clubs, especially clubs this size, it’s more than just the manager for me. That is tough on him.
“It’s early on in the season. He’s a new manager and, likewise with myself, I am just in at Hearts and, if we were still sitting towards the bottom end of the table and integrating loads of players and trying to kind of implement what we want to do, you’d be asking for that understanding. And, as managers, that’s all we ask for.”
While Rangers sit third bottom of the Scottish Premiership after the 2-0 defeat, Hearts are three points clear at the top before reigning champions Celtic face Kilmarnock on Sunday after taking 13 points from a possible 15.
“I enjoyed my team, but it was hard to ignore that and it was hard not to have empathy of course,” former Rangers midfielder McInnes, who has been previously linked with a return to Ibrox as manager, added after a chorus of boos greeted Martin’s exit up the Ibrox tunnel.
Post Comment