The players are scared, says Martin as Rangers boss refuses to resign following defeat to Hearts

Russell Martin last night refused to resign after hearing all corners of Ibrox demand his head on a plate — and put his nightmare start down to the toxic atmosphere inside the stadium making his failing Rangers players scared.

The 39-year-old was booed throughout yesterday’s 2-0 home loss to Hearts and had to deal with chants telling him to ‘get to f***’ and that he would be ‘sacked in the morning’.

Rangers have now gone five league games without a win — the worst opening to a campaign for the club in 47 years — and sit an incredible 10th in the Premiership table with just four points.

Head coach Martin, though, was clear when asked whether he would quit and walk away. Asked if he was prepared to resign, he replied: ‘No’.

When asked about the abuse fired his way from his own supporters as a result of an abject display that saw Lawrence Shankland score twice for the table-topping visitors, he said: ‘They’re entitled to their opinion, so I can’t come out here and criticise that. The fans are always entitled to their opinion.

‘I don’t think many of them wanted me here in the first place. It is what it is. It doesn’t affect me personally. Professionally, it’s difficult because we need the team to play in a certain way that requires certain things and it’s really difficult when the atmosphere is how it is.

‘It’s aimed towards me, not towards them (the players). I’m trying to say that to them. It should hopefully take a bit off them at some point, but it is what it is. We’ll keep working until I’m told not to, but we have to start winning.

‘We have a lot of new guys in there. We have a lot of players trying to feel their way in an environment that’s really difficult. We just have to make sure they’re alright as human beings first and improve their performance.

‘It’s not tactics, mate. They’re scared. We see a very different team in training to the game. You only see the outcome of the end of the week.

‘I’ve not been happy with the performance. I’m not sat here and said to you I’m really happy with the performance. I don’t come out here and lie. I’ve not been happy with the level of performance. Also, it’s my job to work out why. It’s not a big tactical problem.

‘The problems are the emotion, managing anxiety and psychological. We have to try and work that out and we have to maybe simplify it even more.’

Asked if he expected the board and the club’s US owners to lose patience, Martin, who stated there were no plans for him to meet CEO Patrick Stewart or chairman Andrew Cavenagh, replied: ‘I don’t know. We’ll see, won’t we? They’ve been great up until now. All of them. So we’ll see.’

Martin was also unhappy with several big calls made during the Hearts defeat.

Shankland handled the ball in the build-up to his opening goal, substitute Derek Cornelius had a 67th-minute goal chalked off following a Thelo Aasgaard foul of visiting keeper Alexander Schowolow and Martin felt the award of the late penalty that led to Hearts’ second goal — when Mohamed Diomande was adjudged to have fouled Harry Milne — was harsh.

He said: ‘We’re on the side of three poor decisions, in my opinion. It’s a handball for their first goal, our goal is a goal, it’s not a foul on the goalkeeper, and then Dio says he makes no contact.

‘We should have scored two or three, but there’s anxiety at the moment. The players are not the same team we see in training on Thursday and Friday when they go out and play in this environment right now.

‘That’s not a criticism of anyone. Your emotion and your anger, I get it. I understand it. But we have to just keep working.’