It would be safe to say that the Russell Martin era at Ibrox has not gotten off to the start that the Rangers fans were hoping for. The expectation was that the takeover by the US consortium would turn things around for the club. Admittedly, they have invested in the squad this summer, spending about €20 million on transfer fees and brought in multiple players on loan from the Premier League as well. Yet, Celtic find themselves six points clear after the first three games in the Scottish Premiership season.
Martin kicked off his time in the Scottish Premiership with back-to-back draws, which left Celtic four points clear immediately. Their European campaign is up in the air as well after they lost 3-1 to Club Brugge at Ibrox in the first leg. And things do not seem to be getting much better.
Having seen Celtic win with a second-string side this weekend, the Rangers knew they needed all three points to keep up with the defending champions. But a draw is all they could manage once again. In fact, it could have ended in defeat if not for a superb late save from Jack Butland. One of their fans wrote: "Hanging on for a draw against St Mirren, lovely stuff."
Plenty already seem to have given up on Martin already, with one fan adding: "Ok Rangers, time to sack him."
Rangers fans meltdown after going 6 points behind Celtic
Some are even predicting that their season is over, in August, if Martin is not sacked immediately: "If he doesn't get sacked after today then our season is over."
Unsurprisingly, calls are already being made by the supporters to bring back Steven Gerrard, as seems to be the case every couple of months at Ibrox. One wrote: "Get on the phone to Stevie G now."
At this point, the Rangers seem to be struggling to find ways to even win a game: "I don't see how we win a game in the league under him."
Of course, Celtic cannot waste too much time dwelling about what has gone at Ibrox in recent weeks. They have more than enough problems of their own.
Celtic might not have lost their first leg of the Champions League qualifier play-off, but they only managed a goalless draw. Combine that with the Hoops' away record in Europe and Kairat are being viewed as the favourites going into the second leg.
At least the Rangers have invested into their squad this summer, even though their recruitment has been questionable. Celtic have shown little ambition to counter that investment, only spending £3 million on transfer fees so far despite Nicolas Kuhn's €19 million move to Como and the windfall from Jeremie Frimpong's Liverpool switch.
The next league game is at Ibrox. Last season, Celtic had faced the Rangers under similar circumstances and lost. So, they cannot afford to take anything for granted. Before that, there is the long trip to Kazakhstan and an all-important game against Kairat, which will make things even tougher. But for now, let's celebrate going six points clear after just three league games. And the thing is, the gap could have easily been larger.