It is no secret that things are not rosy at Celtic right now. The fans are looking for a change to the football model of the club after they went through arguably their worst summer transfer window ever. Key players left, significant fees were brought in and yet, replacements were not signed in time or at all.
Despite that, Celtic took a nine-point lead over the Rangers this weekend with their 2-1 win over Kilmarnock. The Hoops were nowhere near their best and needed a late penalty from Kelechi Iheanacho, but they got the job done.
That is something that the Rangers have not done in any of their first five league games of the season, with four draws and one loss. Russell Martin has become their first manager in 47 years to do that. In Europe, they were handed a 9-1 aggregate loss by Club Brugge in the Champions League qualifiers.
Naturally, questions have been raised about Martin and most Rangers fans want him to be sacked already. Sky Sports have provided an update on that situation and it is one that will delight Celtic.
Sky Sports confirm Rangers news that will delight Celtic
As reported by Sky Sports, Martin retains the support from the Rangers board despite pressure intensifying after their loss to Hearts at the weekend. The manager also insists that he will not walk away from the club.
Martin is the first appointment of the 49ers era. And it looks like the club are willing to give him every chance possible to turn this around.
There is a feeling of inevitability about his sacking already setting in though. That was the case for the likes of Mick Beale, Giovanni van Bronckhorst and Philippe Clement before him. The only difference is, they had spent a lot longer in the job than Martin has.