My mum was on about how unwell I looked after the game ... but I have to accept it, I know the intensity around the club, says Russell Martin

When Russell Martin walked out of the Ibrox press conference room last Saturday, many of those present suspected they had witnessed his final act as Rangers manager.

Yet despite the rancorous and widespread disapproval of the 39-year-old among the club’s support, it later emerged he retains the backing of chairman Andrew Cavenagh and his fellow executives on the American consortium now pulling the strings on Edmiston Drive.

So, if Martin didn’t exactly have a spring in his step when he walked back into the press room at the stadium on Friday morning, he proceeded to articulate a defiantly upbeat narrative on his belief that he can still be a success at the club.

It’s unlikely to convince any of those who will gather to protest outside Ibrox before a crucial Premier Sports Cup quarter-final against Hibs on Sautrday.

However, Martin certainly didn’t shy away from any of the issues raised amid the intense scrutiny over his position. Here’s what he had to say about the following:

TEAM-BONDING EXERCISE TO LOCH LOMOND AND CONIC HILL.

‘It has always been a plan, it was just timing when to do it. This city and club are so intense, to step away from it sometimes is a good thing - take a breath and spend some time together when they are not playing football or being worked.

‘If we did it when we were winning, no-one says a word. It can be perceived either way.

‘I’ve done it at every club we’ve been at, different things. It was good for the lads, there was a lightness to them. We had a long walk and a little dip.

‘I said to them it’s just about having to take a breath, otherwise it’s going to really hurt. We are going to experience a bit of pain together, which we have done.

‘Then we will get through it. The potential for growth in the group, getting through this period, is so big. I enjoyed it. I had been ill last week, so it was the first walk I’d done. I’m still sore now.

‘It’s about looking after these young men, first and foremost. It was about trying to get them to understand when you are in this bubble, the intensity is pretty difficult.

‘To play the way we want to play is difficult at times. They are young men trying to feel their way into their Rangers careers in difficult circumstances.

‘So many games, a lack of training time, trying to feel their way while playing matches under big scrutiny. They have had some tough moments.

‘All of it is just to help them. That’s why I became a coach, to help players to maximise and show what they have.

‘At times it is difficult to step back and take stock, so I hope that has helped that. It set up a really good week and they have been brilliant.’

CHANTS OF ‘MARTIN GET TO F***’ DURING HEARTS’ DEFEAT

‘Last week, I wasn’t very well. I had a chest infection. My daughter’s also been in hospital three nights this week. That gives you perspective, because your kid is poorly and all that stuff.

‘My mum was on about how unwell I looked or beaten up after the game. I wanted to sit down after 60 minutes but felt I couldn’t because I was getting shouted at by a lot of people and it would have looked a certain way.

‘I have to accept it. I know the intensity coming into the club and that was part of the challenge of choosing this job ahead of others.

‘If you want to enjoy it when it’s going well, you have to accept it when it’s not. That’s fine. The family has to get used to it because I want to be a manager for a very long time. They have to find a way to deal with it.

‘It’s a really difficult balance for me. It hurts professionally because we work so hard to try and give the supporters what they want, which is a team which wins a lot and does it in a certain way.

‘So I am more frustrated than anyone, being in charge of that with some of the results and performances.

‘Then being in here and listening to someone tell me the team doesn’t look like it’s coached is difficult.

‘Because the one thing we’ve always had at any team is they have a certain way of doing things. Whether you believe in it or like it or not, they definitely look a certain way which takes a lot of time on the training pitch.

‘So we will get there with this team. The fans’ protests and stuff, I can’t control at all, so I don’t spend any time. I have to respect it and understand their frustration and annoyance. I feel every bit of it as well.

‘But I do think it’s an amazing opportunity for us as a team to come through this period, to grow through it and be so strong from it.

‘Hopefully, at that point everyone will come together. We just need to win football matches.

‘I can’t take the fans’ protests personally because I don’t know any of them and they don’t know me. They don’t know how hard we are working.

‘The people inside the building, I feel incredibly well supported - the players, the staff, ownership. As long as that continues, it will be fine.’

SATURDAY’S PROTESTS CALLING FOR SACKING OF MARTIN AND CEO PATRICK STEWART

‘I have a good relationship with Patrick. We don’t deal with each other every day because he’s at Ibrox and we’re at the training ground.

‘I said to Patrick that this club has been used by some individuals over the last however long to progress their career, in terms of having the status of being attached to the club and enjoying that.

‘There have been a lot of people who have come and gone who enjoyed that bit of it. In Patrick, in the ownership, you’ve got people who actually care about making this club successful and sustainable again.

‘You’ve got good, honest people who are not here to be attached to the fame, status or level of importance of the club. They are here to try and make a difference and help the club not have the problems it’s had in the past.

‘When you’re in a role that I’m in, that Patrick’s in, you are always going to be a target of frustration if it’s not going well.

‘He genuinely really cares about the people here. Also, he didn’t inherit a place that was ticking along and the culture was great.

‘So it takes time to change things off the pitch, too, especially with the level of scrutiny you have.

‘I’m sure it’s as frustrating for him as it is for me. But he’s a strong enough character to deal with it, otherwise he wouldn’t have been at a club like Manchester United for as long as he was.

‘Inside this building, he has a huge amount of support. I’m sure he’s more than capable of dealing with it. He’s been really consistent which is all you want in a leadership role.

‘Ultimately, we have to win matches and come the end of the season hopefully the noise has died down because we have done well.’

NICO RASKIN’S RETURN TO SQUAD AFTER BEING DROPPED

‘Nico has trained really well this week. I think in that situation, maybe it’s a necessary thing for this group to improve.

‘I think it will be a really important period for Nico’s growth as a human being. I think it will be good for me in the long term as well to learn from it. So he’s in a good place and I’m looking forward to having him back in.’